Call me Datura
by BatShitCrazy21
Summary: Women have been disappearing in Gotham, Batgirl/Barbara Gordon among them. Are Batman, Nightwing & Robin able to find her before it's too late? With the help of the Young Justice team they just might. Tension has been building between Dick Grayson & Barbara but with her gone will it be too late for Dick to tell her how he really feels? Also Artemis & Wally pairing.
1. Bait

**Hi, this is my first story ever! I decided to give it a go so it is a little rough but please let me know what you think! What did you like, what you didn't like, what you didn't understand! What needed a little more, what would you like to see more of ect… it would be extremely helpful! I am a little nervous but you have to start somewhere so here I go! **

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own any of the DC characters, Batman, Nightwing, Robin, Batgirl, Young Justice Characters and Teen Titian characters. And the main storylines/backstories I don't own too. **

**There is a mixture of Young Justice, the comics and animated tv shows in this story. If you know the basic storyline of YL you should be fine though.**

**It is set when everyone is in the team, so like in between season 1 and 2 of YL. But I am not going to do the typically re-calling of the storyline/invasion. This is a new, story of my own. **

**Rating M, possible lemon ;) I know how much everyone loves a bit of that ;) **

**Call me Datura**

**Chapter one:**

**Monday morning: location unknown**

When did it become so complicated? It was all going as planned. Life was meant to be straight forward, sure there were always slight adjustments needed to be made but as the daughter of Gotham's greatest commissioner and as a Bat I was prepare for almost every situation, where did I go so wrong? What happened to those bat-instincts that I pride myself on? All those training sessions I put myself though, the tests Batman constantly sprung on us to prepare us to avoid situations like this… yet here I am.  
Oh yeah, in case you haven't worked it out it is Barbara Gordon here, AKA Batgirl currently talking to herself as there isn't anyone in this damp dark cell that I can truly vent to without giving away my identity.

My eyes are still adjusting to the dim lighting, it doesn't help that I have a killer hang over, what did I drink last night, or is it still night? Those facts seem to be a bit fuzzy at the moment. God why didn't I listen to Dick? I hate it when he is right, the little shit.

"Oh the newest addition is awake!", a shadow moves close to the rusty bars of my cell, the voice sounds familiar but I don't know why just yet… come on brain get your shit together. It is a female voice, low seductive in an evil "_I am so up myself way_". I give her the bird because frankly I am pissed off and no matter what, I will not be a victim, even if I am apparently a prisoner… you can tell I am taking this well. A part of me is just glad it is a female, of course I don't know who else is a part of this kidnaping but if it was a male… it is never a plus for any girl in my position. Not that I couldn't take care of myself, I am Batgirl after all, it is just a stress I would rather not deal with. Of course there are some fucked up women out there so I really can't relax too much.

"I got a feeling you are meaning me. Care to tell me what I am addition-ing to or whatever this is?" I say in a dry tone.

"All in due time my little seedling" the women spoke in a soft voice.

"Fuck you, I aren't no body's anything!.. Especially seed-…" fuck… I DO know who this is… and I have a feeling things are going to get a lot worse before they get better.

"Good. Then no one will be missing you. But don't worry Mother Green will change that."

**Chapter 2: **

**Gotham City: 3 days earlier: Saturday 1:30am**

The air is crisp; the sky is dark blue, the moon full, bright. Almost prefect if you minus the pollution coming from the sketchy misguided city. If you don't focus on anything in particular you could find a strange kind of peace on these rooftops. You know, if you ignore the traffic coming from Gotham football stadium and the strange sounds from the dark alleys throughout the city.

Hidden from the street lights, high above those dark alleys squats a deep-in-thought Batgirl. She snaps out of her daze as her pray finally makes a move from the "Around the World" strip club. Her target had been in there for over 2 hours now and she was becoming more and more disguised with the amount of well "respected" high-powered men that had walked in and out of this place. "_Honestly had no one ever heard of the internet?" _Batgirl thought to herself.

She stalks her pray from rooftop to rooftop as he walks down town towards the city park. This is the area where most of the girls have gone missing. It wasn't clear whether or not these girls had been abducted from the park walking home or from one of the local clubs and bars just up the road from here. Normally the big Bat would leave kidnapping to the local police but it isn't just a one off this time. Someone was picking off girls every week for the past month. Robin is keeping an eye out for any strange behaviour up near some of the clubs. Batman is checking out a few leads and I am supposed to interrogate this guy named Blake Nelson.

Blake Nelson 28, single, changed with dealing date-rape drugs, ecstasy, pills, as well as been charged with countless accounts of assault charges, theft, sexual assault and more importantly spotted outside of the club talking to one of the missing girls who was taken that same night a week ago. Not to mention his sister use to date the girl who went missing 3 weeks ago. Certainty not a great resume.

Swiftly Batgirl drops from the rooftop down into one of the dark alley ways making sure she is out of sight. She follows him into the city park, making sure to keep to the shadows. They go deeper into the dark park and it becomes easier to blend into the background. After a few minutes of walking he stops by an old drinking fountain. She stops only a few meters away waiting patiently for the right moment. As he leans against a tree, she can get a better look at him. He is wearing dark blue boot cut jeans, worn grey and green sneakers and a grey hoodie with "F- THE PIGS" on it. Batgirl figures it is best to wait to see if anyone else shows up before she makes her entrance.

Sure enough she wasn't wrong and she didn't have to wait long until another man in a green and white hoodie approached.

"Hey man, how you been?" the man asks as he walks to shake Nelsons hand.

"Been better, do you have the money?"

"Yep, you got what I asked for?" Nelson pulls out a small bag of pink pills. Batgirl takes a few pictures with her bat-iphone (sounds lame but it has been rigged to do a number of handy little things, she laughed at the idea at first but came to love it), if he isn't the suspect she is looking for she can still put him away for a little while for dealing.

"_That is what you get for making me wait outside a strip club for over 2 hours you piece of crap_" she thinks to herself.

Just as they were about to part ways she figures it was about time she comes out of the shadows.

"What's up boys, what have you got there? Lollies? Please tell me M&Ms"

"Fuck man, what the hell is she doing here!?" the green hooded man said.

"Relax what's a little girl playing dress up going to do. Slap us? Wow I am so scared" Batgirl moves closer, smiles and says

"Maybe I will. So why don't Mr Green hood there put down the drugs and run off before things gets rough. Blake Nelson and I have a few things to discuss."

"Oh do we now? Well why don't you take off that costume and let's get right to it"

"ha ha hilarious" Batgirl pulls out a batarang and pins the green hooded man's jumper to the tree as he tries to sneak away, "put the drugs down first like a good little boy" Batgirl says in a stern voice, she is done planning games.

Nelson throws a punch to her face, Batgirl blocks it whilst grabbing his wrist with her right hand using his memento to spin and flip him over. He lets out a groan. Batgirl ignores it and walks over to the green hooded man; she takes the pills from him, pulls the batarang out and tells him to get lost. Nelson has gotten up and runs up behind her but she anticipated that and back kicks him in the chest. She then punches him in the face returning him to the grown.

"You know it doesn't have to be like this, you can just tell me where the girls are and save yourself some broken bones."

…**...**

**2:45am**

"Batgirl to Batman"

"Talk"

"Nelson was a dead end. If he knew something he wasn't about to spill but I doubt it. He said he was trying to get Sarah, the girl from 2 weeks ago at the club a drink but she refused him. As for Annabell, his sisters ex, he hated her true but swears he was at the pub at 34 street and knows nothing about what happened. I sent the police pictures of him recently dealing and dropped him off at the station anyways. You?"

"Good job Batgirl. Nothing promising either; get back to the cave. Robin is on his way, I am taking over point at the clubs. Batman out."

"_That means school homework for me, great looks like I won't be sleeping much tonight. And tomorrows going to be a rough day for Dick, better see him tomorrow" _Batgirl thought to herself as she made her walk back to her motorbike.

...

**Chapter 3: **

**Mount Justice: Saturday 10am**

**Dick's POV**

April 15th, this day is never a good day, wouldn't it be good to just skip it?

*knock knock knock*

No matter how many times I tell people I am just not feeling well and to just leave me alone they still keep trying, it is becoming a problem. I thought coming to Mount Justice would be a good escape from the family. They mean well and I do appreciate it most years but today I thought I would just skip it, and what better way to skip a day in a place where no one else knows what this day means? Most people don't know who I really am here, so they can't know what this day means. They can't know the loss and pain I feel most strongly. I was a fool to think that being around different people would make any difference.

*knock knock knock*

Really? They are sure persistent.

"I said I am just not feeling well, must have been something I ate. I am just going to sleep it off."

"It's me, so you know I am no fool. Please let me in Nightwing." Batgirl, of course I should have known she wouldn't just leave me be. It must be a girl thing, Bruce Wayne, AKA Batman and adopted father and Tim Drake, AKA Robin, haven't come knocking on my bedroom door at Mount Justice; they probably figured I came here to get space. Babs ignores those sorts of thoughts, she thinks she knows better. I don't know, maybe she does.

"You know I do know how to pick locks so if you don't plan on opening these doors soon, fare warning I am going to open this door up. So pull up your pants if you need-"

"Alright! Alright, persistent aren't you BG. You know if you wanted to see me with my pants down this bad you should of just asked", Dick drags himself out of bed to unlock the door.

"Well I don't, that's why I am warning you"

"Sure, BG, sure." I say as I swing the door open, normally I would keep going with our suggestive banter but pretending everything is okay with Babs is like trying to lie to yourself, pointless. She smiles as a way of greeting but it soon fades to mirror my own expression. With one look you know she knows what this day means, accepting the reality of it, feeling of hopelessness and for her, just wanting to take away the pain but not entirely knowing how to.

We stare at each other for a minute; all noise coming from the rest of the cave disappears. All there is, is the understanding between us. She moves forward and puts her small but strong arms around my chest. She is a foot shorter than me now, she used to be taller than me when we both started this crime-fighting gig; needless to say I gave her crap when I grew, I smile at the memory. She leans her head on my chest, I pull her in closer, it isn't often we show this much affection towards each other but as always she knew what I needed most. I closed my eyes and buried my head in her hair not wanting to say anything.

"I am so sorry Robin" she whispered.  
You might think that is odd that she called me that when I haven't been for Robin years now, but it makes perfect sense to me. It is the nickname my mother gave me. It means something different than when I played dress up, it was my connection to her, and Babs knew that. She always knows what I need to hear.

...

**Mount Justice: 10:45am**

**Barbara's POV**

I wait outside of Dick's room while he gets dressed. I told him to put something nice on and to get out in 5 minutes, no exception, no questions just to do as I say. He was in no mood to argue, which is unlike him as he always loves to poke at everything I say but understandable considering what day it is.

I still find it difficult to comprehend losing your whole family. I mean my mother walked out on us but that was different…rough… but different. The bitter sweet thing about it is that if none of this had happened he wouldn't be the man he is today. He wouldn't be a crime-fighter, a beloved brother and my best friend. A part of me dies a little and hates myself for thinking that… he would have been happy, happier anyways if none of this had happened; he just wouldn't know any of us. Life was cruel.

A sudden lighting smear of red and yellow light pass me but double backs making my black dress fly dramatically up but I caught it just in time before flashing anyone too much.

"Wow BG what's with the dress? I mean it looks great.. I mean you look nice…but!?" of course Wally West, AKA Kid Flash, as he runs really, really, crazy fast.

"Mm thanks Wally. It is nothing really.. just you know what day it is and yeah thought, well we would take him to see them. So figured this was appropriate."

"We?" I spun on my heels, I did not hear the door open! Damm I thought I was done getting caught off guard by Wingnut.

"Oh and you do look nice Babs."

"Oh thanks, yeah it was meant to be a surprise but Tim is waiting out in the kitchen and we are meeting Bruce and Alfred in the car. We thought we would pay our respects, together." I watch for as sudden reaction. I am not sure if it was the right to do this way, but I know he wants to go, I mean he sees them all the time but today.. is different. I knows he doesn't want to go alone, but doesn't want to ask… or I just don't want him to go alone.

Wally speaks up " Dick, oh man I am bad at these things. I wanted to say something before but you looked like you wanted to be left alone… but.. but yeah just so you know I am here for you bud."

"Thanks Wally, it means a lot" Dick gives him a half smile and the speedster pulls him into a hug. It was sweet. You know Wally could be inappropriate at times and just pain annoying but when it came down to it he was a genuine friend. What more could you want at the end of the day?

God I can feel my emotions getting the best of me. Pull it together Barbara! This day is about your best friend needing you, you can't go crying over a man-hug!

I shake it off, move my hair out of my face and pretend I wasn't really watching because even though I am here with them, it felt private, between best friends.  
Dick looked up at me and for a minute there I wasn't sure if he was going to bail or not, he hadn't said anything yet about going to the graveyard.

"Should we get going now?" I nod and with a soft-half smile I take his arm and we go meet Tim in the Kitchen, ready to take the Zeta-tube back to Gotham to meet the others.

...  
**Wayne Manor: 4pm**

**Dick's POV **

It is a rainy old day outside so we decided to sit by the fire place in the library. It was nice here, peaceful, calm. I haven't felt this content in a while. I was still feeling… well… sad about it all, at the same time though I am glad to be here together, even if I wasn't up to admitting it out loud. I have been staring at the fire for a while, drifting in and out of the conversation. I look up to see Bruce turn his head pretending he wasn't just looking my way. You can tell he wants to say more but words have never been his specialty. He may not be the best role model when it comes to dealing with this kind of things but he is always there when it counted. He took me in and for that I would be forever grateful. Tim was sitting on the ground across from me also staring at the ground, he has changed from suit pants he was wearing earlier to black track suit pants and a red hoodie; I should have done that. I wonder what he was so deep in thought about. Sometimes he was harder to read than most. He is by far the smartest person to wear the Robin uniform. More gifted than even Bruce but I doubt he ever saw it that way and frankly I wasn't about to admit it. He already has a big enough ego after finding out who we all were on his own, I wasn't about to add to that. He had to stay sharp, not too confident. I can't let what happen to… Jason… he was too cocky. I just can't think it, it is too painful. No. That wouldn't happen to Tim, he was different, he was better than all of us. Just stop thinking dammit Dick.

It has been awhile since we all spent time just together. Alfred had made us hot chocolate and double chocolate chip cookies, man he spoils us. You can tell he appreciates these times together the most. He understands the work we all do but at the same time he worries about us having real lives. He worries how much of ourselves we lose to our work. If we lose so much of ourselves to this life then what was the point of it all? I guess I see that point but at the same time I don't think I could live a normal life, not when I feel I could be doing more. It is like a drug, no matter how far we run from it, with one taste we are back again.

The room has gone silent once again, god we are a depressing bunch sometimes. If Babs was still here she would probably say that out loud, she loves to make things awkward and point out the obvious. At the same time it snaps us out of ourselves and maybe that is a good thing. Maybe I should step up…

*beep beep*

Batman's communicator. We all snap out of our dazes and turn to look at Bruce, waiting for the news. Bruce has turned his Batman face on now, he was in work mode. He gets up puts the communicator to his ear "Alright, I'll come right down".

"What is it?" I ask, getting up. I had enough of feeling sorry for myself today, I need to do something productive.

"Barbara is in the Cave, she has been working on the missing girls' case. She said the police found one of the girl's bodies. Jessica Sore, the first girl that went missing."

...

**Chapter 4: **

**Bat Cave: 4:30pm**

This isn't a good sign. They have been looking for four weeks now for this girl and now she suddenly turns up, dead. So carelessly thrown away too. She was found outside of an abandon factory, left on the side of the footpath as if they didn't care who found her. She was covered in dirt and blood mixed with an orange substance. More horrifying was she was completely naked. Whoever this bastard was they didn't care to cover her up. This wasn't a complete surprise as we did find her clothes a few days after her disappearance only a few minutes walk from the factory. After each girl went missing the police found their clothes two or three days afterwards all in different areas, it doesn't look too promising from the women still missing. But if Batman and his team had anything to do with it, whoever did this will pay and they will find these women.

"Is there anything else the police found yet? Anything else these girls have in common Batgirl?" Batman asks. None of them were in costume yet but it was a habit to use code names when talking about work, whether or not they were suited up.

"Not that I can tell. We will know more when an autopsy is done, where or not she was… violated." No one said anything but they were all pretty sure what the results would be. This made Batgirl mad, how far had society supposedly come, yet this shit still keeps on happening? It seems no matter how advanced the human race becomes they were still savage animals underneath. She clenched her fist almost drawing blood just to keep her from bursting out in anger, that would be unprofessional and then Batman might decide she couldn't handle the case. She could handle the case, she would just rather that there weren't any cases _like_ this to "handle".

She sighs and continues "All women ages between 19 and 32, currently single. All different races, skin tones, hair colours. The strange thing is they all appear to be, well attracted to people of the same sex, besides one girl who a friend said was asexual, meaning no sexual attraction. Jessica Sore and Annabell Sage were both lesbians, Sarah Jones was bisexual but the last serious relationship was with a women and Steph Queen who was asexual. I am not sure if that means anything but it seems like a strange coincidence. All went missing from different bars and clubs around the city park, all personal items and clothing found within 3 days after their disappearance around the city, but not more than 15 minutes drive from the city part. It all seems pretty messed up."

"Agreed. And if I am getting my calculations right it has been past a week since the last kidnapping which means either the bad guy is late, or already taken another victim and no one has yet to report her missing or he has given up, which is doubtful." Nightwing adds with a look of exhaustion, he was well rested however these cases have a way of draining the life right out of you. He pushes himself off the table behind the bat-computer he was leaning against and starts to walk over to his uniform, it was early to be going out as Nightwing but he felt better if he could be prepared now so he could leave as soon as it started to get dark. He rubs his face with both hands, hoping he can rub off this bad feeling he had. It felt like things were going to get a lot worse before they got better. He wasn't sure how but he had come trust this gut feeling of his, even if it wasn't something he was looking forward to.

Batman turned and picked up the Bat-phone which was a secure line he could use to contact any alleys, in this case, Commissioner Gordon. He walks calmly up around the Bat cave as Batgirl and Robin wait patiently for any new information or leads they could follow.

Robin stares at the case file, something feels off but he isn't sure what it is. "Doesn't it feel too obvious? Like whoever left this girl like this that they wanted us to think a certain way?"

"I don't Rob, I think you might be thinking too much into this. Sometimes what it looks like it is. Some people are just…"

"monsters." Nightwing finishes Batgirl's sentence. A common silence falls over the bat-cave once again as all young heroes fall back into their own thoughts.

Batman stops and hangs up the phone. He doesn't say anything about the phone call which means there wasn't anything new. He looks from one young hero to another, all strong, angry but in control. They all had an expression on their faces that meant business, they were ready to fight, they were ready for whatever orders he would give next. Robin was sitting at the bat-computer but not facing it, he hung forward with his elbows on his knees and case in hand, his pose was relaxed but he was tense all over. He was done sitting around waiting for another girl to be taken. On his left stood Batgirl, fists clenched ready to hit something, ready for the fight. Then Nightwing, been in the game longer than the others, he was quite literally ready dressed in gear swinging his escrima sticks around.

"It is good to see you prepared Nightwing but tonight you and Barbara go under cover. Dress up in club gear but keep it semi-practical just in case. Robin and I will be on out on the roof tops keeping an eye out."

"Cool" Batgirl says, happy to be doing something practical about the problem.

"Cool?! Are you kidding me!? There is nothing 'cool' about it! He is using you as BAIT!" Nightwing voices angrily, he knew she could handle herself and he would be there too… but it still didn't seem right putting her actively in harms way of this guy.

Batgirl just raises her eye as if daring him to keep going or to quickly change his opinion before it is too late. She knew that would never happen but it is always good to give the benefit of the doubt.

"Batgirl can handle herself. I wouldn't allow her to be here if I didn't think she was capable. We will all be keeping an eye on her; she will not be in any real danger." Batman states, he doesn't want to have this conversation, it is a waste of time in his opinion. Not to Dick, it was a stress he didn't want to have to EVER think about.

"It is unnecessary." He insists, staring at Batman, he wasn't about to look at Batgirl, he knows the look she is most likely giving him right now would kill him and make him want to hide behind Alfred.

Batman just looks towards Batgirl to see on the off-chance she really was uncomfortable with this plan.

She was just waiting, sometimes it is best to let the boys get there silly words out so they felt "heard", she knew to win anything in life you had to be patience, to wait until the right time to make your move. Plus sometimes she just like to be dramatic, it was a hobby of hers, that and making things awkward, that was a lot of fun.

"You know if you have a problem with me in the field, if you don't YET believe I can handle myself. Even after the countless times I have saved your sorry ass. You can say it to my face. I am a big girl. This is a good plan and you know it." She dares him. Dares him to try to win this game, staring at the back of his head. He slowly turns to face her, moves closer to her, stares down into her eyes, she wasn't going to budge. His mouth is shut closed in a thin line, tense all over, he decides wisely to let this go. She was right after all, he just hates her for it, he wants to shake her silly, to just… keep herself out of harm way. Instead he shift his eyes away from hers and sighs, drops his escrima sticks on the bench,

"I know Batgirl."

...

**Chapter 5: **

**Blue Icy Night Club: 8:30pm**

**Dick's POV **

I lean on the brick wall just opposite of the club waiting for Wally to show up. It would be suspicious if I went to a club alone, a bit creepy too and I couldn't invite any of my university mates as it would be hard to explain why I wasn't talking to Barbara. It would be difficult to not drink with them and would just distract me from the mission. Wally though I could explain it to, he was one of the only people who knew I was Nightwing and understood the importance of the mission, he would be helpful in case something came up.

There is Wally now, you know as a speedster you would think he would be able to get here on time, no problem, yet he is 10 minutes late, I shake my head and smile. It was a little funny.

"What are you shaking your head at? If it is my top I will have you know that the blond in the shop reassured me it is the hottest look, and well she was smoking so she would know" Wally approaches with a big grin on his face. Typical Wally always thinking about girls, again I had a giggle to myself over that. He was wearing black tight jeans, white and black vans, a white t-shirt with triangle and eye in the middle of it, on top of that he had an unbutton white and red striped dress shirt, sleeves rolled up.

"Oh the shop down by movies in Happy Harbor? Yeah she was alright, a bit too flirty if you ask me. Rebecca I think her name was"

"Yeah that is the one, how did you know?" I push off the wall to face Wally directly,

"Because, she sold me the same but in black" I laugh, Wally isn't impressed, they were basically matching and that wasn't cool! I also had black jeans on with black dress shoes and a dark blue and white unbutton shirt on top of my matching-black-triangle top, with the sleeves rolled up. To be fair it is a lot harder for guys to find something unique to wear without looking like they tried too hard. It didn't bother me though, I clearly found it amusing.

"Whatever man. Let's just get in there and watch your girl. Do you think we could have a beer? I wouldn't mind one now we are out!"

"My girl? Dude really, that joke is getting a little old and no beer, this isn't social. Here put this in your ear, it is a communicator so we can keep in touch with the others." I hand over a small skin coloured ear piece, my smile leaving my face. Why did everyone keep saying things like that? Couldn't a guy just have a girl as a friend? I have more than one just girlfriends, well you know what I mean! Yet I only get shit over Babs. It makes me feel uncomfortable sometimes, I am not sure why though. Is it because maybe…Grr stop thinking about this!

"You are no fun! And that joke will never get old, not until you stop going red in the face every time someone says something- ouch! What was that for?!" I hit him in the arm, he deserves that and it makes me feel better.

*Dude that is so true* I face-plant, how did I forgot that Batman and Robin can hear our conversation?! Crap did Babs hear it?!

"Robin you're not helping" I say, why am I defending myself?

*I am not trying to, clearly* Wally laughs, he clearly loves that Robin agrees with him.

*That is enough. Stay focused, Batgirl just arrived, wait a minute then follow her in* Batman says, clearly not impressed with the childish conversation.

*Yeah and I can hear you all just so you know. Although I do agree it is hilarious* Of course she can. And of course she would agree, this is no help. I look across the road to spot her walking towards the line to the night club, she is alone because it would be too dangerous to bring any of her friends, her story is she is waiting for a friend inside the club, of course there is no one coming. She wouldn't be considered creepy waiting around by herself, she would seem more approachable. Fucking sexist if you ask me but hey life was never fair.

She walks under the street light and I can get a better look at her, she is wearing black wedges boots, a short tight black skirt that reaches half way up between her knees and well... the rest of her. She wears a dark red tank top that rides low…showing off a gold necklace with a black pendent, it is actually a hidden camera Batman gave her so they would be able to keep an eye out in the club. Her long red hair is naturally curled, it falls free down around her shoulders it is stunning, I don't think I have ever seen her dress like this, I didn't think she owned anything so… tight. No jacket, she just walks down the street with her black clutch, she oozes confidence and strength as she walks towards the line. Yet when she smiles she becomes soft, approachable, kind, easy going, someone you just have to find a way to talk to, to just hope that maybe if you are around her you could too feel that way.

"Put your tongue back in your mouth Nightwing, you're staring. Damm BG you look hot, you should wear that more often!" Wally says. Goddammit was I? Maybe I looked but I wasn't staring, oh no I can feel my checks burning up. And my tongue wasn't out; it was in my mouth where it is supposed to be! I hit him in the shoulder; he is getting on my nerves.

"Ouch! Stop hitting me dude!" Wally hits me back then rubs him arm where I hit him.

"No code-names in the field. Babs I wasn't… he is lying. But you do look nice. But it doesn't look at practical.."

Barbara brings her mobile to her ear so she looks like she is talking to someone on the phone instead of herself.

*Gee thanks guys. I don't feel insecure about what I am wearing at all now* she says sarcastically, we embarrassed her which is quite unusual for her, times like these you remember she just like any other girl who probably gets insecure about her body. I never thought of her like that, she has always been so strong, confident, acts like nothing can bother her, plus she has always been beautiful, I always figured she knew that.

*And this is more comfortable then you would think. Wedges are stable, they blend into the club scene but if I need to run I could. The rings I am wearing will make a good weapon if I need. And the idea is to stand out, so red.* she wasn't wrong about standing out.

"Wow you really thought this through. Typically Bat-style" Wally says in a causal friendly way. It was true, the Bat-family always thought-out everything. It was always good to be prepared. And I was impressed; it was practical without looking like she was ready to fight. We started to walk to the line now that she was lining up and a few feet in front of us. I couldn't help but look a little closer now we were closer… damn she looked good, a part of me just wants to reach out and…dammit Dick stop thinking about her like that! She is your friend and team mate, you can't afford to think of her like that.

Two girls that were in front of us turned around, one waved her hand in front of my face, bring me back into reality. She was a white brunette chick wearing a tight fitting purple dress, short and low cut, wow I am beginning to see a trend for girls at clubs. I don't mind, it doesn't hurt the eye but they have to know, it really isn't that hard to please guys, if that is the attention they are trying to get. It really doesn't take much for a girl to get a guy's attention wearing a snowman suit. But hey, I am not about to say anything.

"Hey! Aren't you Richard Wayne?"

"Mmm well Richard Grayson, Wayne but yes. Sorry, do I know you?"

"No, but you do now, I am Amy Wilson, and this is my friend Sky Harris, you boys here alone tonight?" Wow that was quick and to the point but I admire that.

"No! Yes, I mean we aren't meeting anyone. Hi I am Wally West, Dick's best friend! It is a pressure", see we are on a mission and all he is thinking about is girls. Well it does get hard to meet girls when you are constantly crime-fighting or studying or catching up on sleep so you can't really blame him. I hesitate, this wasn't a part of the plan but hanging with these girls would make us look more normal.

"It is nice to meet you Amy and Sky".

...

**11:15pm **

**Barbara's POV**

This is pointless, it has been forever and I have spoken to over 20 guys and a few girls and nothing sus or out of the normal. No trying to spike my drink, no come around this creepy corner, of course some guys have tried to make a move but nothing that isn't expected or suggests they would kidnap to get what they want. We have gone to two other bars/clubs just in case but so far nothing. I lean against the crowded bar, staring at my non-alcoholic drink playing with the straw, I don't even want it but I have it so it looks like I am drinking.

"How's it going?" a whisper in my ear, not my communicator but a man's voice, his breath warm against my ear sending a shiver down my back, but in a good way. I hate that, because I know it is Dick, he shouldn't be able affect me like that, catching me off-guard once again.

I turn to face him, with a not-impressed look.

"How do you think?" he goes to respond when he is pushed up against me grabbing my arms as support I let out a small squeal, it caught me off surprise, sue me. This place was too crowded, no one believes in personal space.

"Sorry Babs…umm" he looks down at me, wearing these heels he is only an inch taller than me so our faces are closer than they normally would be. It is distracting… wow he looks good, sometimes I forget how much he has grown from that small skinny boy I once knew as Robin. Now he is tall and well-built with strong facial features, the girls at school would always go on about how handsome he was, but I never really looked. He has short clean-cut hair, boy do I have a strange urge to run my hands through it. What am I doing?! Am I checking-out Dic- No! Stop this, pull yourself together girl, say something clever… mmm cleaver dammit!

"Yeah I was talking around and so far nothing sus. Just the standard creepy behaviour. You?" Dick said, pulling me back into reality and letting go of my arms, the lack of contact is a bit disappointing, I am- no, no it's not. I cough pretending to clear my throat breaking eye contact before I reply.

"Yeah just the same. This isn't good, I just hope we aren't too late. Mm what are you doing here anyways? Well like here, here, shouldn't you be off over there or something?"

"Oh yeah I said I would get the girls some drinks… figured I would do it over here."

"Oh right, they seem cute. I better circulate some more." Of course, I almost forgot about those money-grabbing girls… they probably realized who Dick was; I can't help it, it bugs me a little…in a friend way, I am just thinking of him really.

"Yeah well, they make us blend more you know" he brushes it off like business and orders drinks at the bar, when he turns away I push though the crowed, got to stay focused. Who is my next target, I look around the dark club, the lights are blue and purple, it doesn't help very much, also I am too short I can't see over half the guys here, it is annoying.

Bingo. Luke Jenkins, 31 years old, he was on Batman's list, he was already interrogate but didn't give up any information. He has been involved in kidnaping kids of Gotham's wealthy, demanding a high price, as well as the usually assault chargers. Of course that was in his late teens, early twenties but they say the best predictor for future behaviour is past. It is possible he took up his old habit. He must have been here for a few hours already otherwise Batman or Robin would have spotted him before he came in and let us know he was here.

*BG to BM Luke Jenkins is here, I am going to approach.*

*Copy that Batgirl, be careful.*

I squeeze past a big group of girls, approaching my target. He is talking to two other men around the same age. They are hanging near the stairs to the next level of the club, clearly checking out the girls on the dance floor. Gross, I hate that I can tell that. As I get close pretend to be a bit tipsy and do the classic 'trip' and fall into him spilling my drink a little.

"OMG I am so sorry! Are you ok?" you can tell he is clearly irritated and was about to yell but then his eyes move down me… gross. I want to cover up but I know this was the point of wearing this… to get his attention. Now I have it and he speaks up "No it's fine, are you okay?"

"Yes, just you know. Trying to drink anyway my problems like any other silly girl here haha, sorry I shouldn't of said that, you don't want to hear about my problems, a good looking guy like you probably has a girl to get back to" yes I did just say that, I know I hate myself a little too.

"No no, you are fine, and no lady tonight. What is a lovely girl like you so sad about?"

"Are you sure you want to hear this? It really is quite pathetic!" think of the job Batgirl think of the job!

"Really, now I have to know. Let me get you another drink, that one split everywhere" god that was way too easy.

"That is so sweet! Thank you! Well my girlfriend just broke up with me and my friend was meant to meet me here to drink away my problems but she didn't show up! So I am all alone being pathetic drinking by my lonely self! Pathetic right?"

"Oh girlfriend, so you don't..?"

"Sometimes, I like them all to be honest, why is that strange?" I lean up against the wall and wait for his reply, he actually grins and moves closer, "no that is hot, would you be interested in a threesome then?" he says as he has the nerve to stroke my arm. Yeah I got a feeling this isn't our guy.

We talk for a bit longer, sussing out the usual questions. He wasn't our guy, he clearly wants to have sex with me but isn't going to force anything.

*Batgirl, Nightwing. Gordon says a missing person report came in 20 minutes ago, Jamie Lee, age 22, single, didn't come home from a friend's house last night. If nothing else strikes you as strange call it a night.*

Well I guess that means we fail. God dammit! I actually thought this might work. I better go find the others. I bump into a few people knocking into this poor girl.

"Sorry! Are you ok?" I pull her up,

"I am fine, that was my fault I was just coming over to you actually"

"Me? Sorry, do we know each other?" the girl blushes.

"Um no, I just couldn't help but over hear your conversation with that creepy guy over there. You know he has been trying to get a threesome with like every second girl! I am glad you didn't… well you know. Oh no this sounds creepy doesn't it?!"

"No, no, it is fine, haha you are right, he was a freak!"

"Agreed! I just also couldn't help but hear you were here by yourself and recently.. well I am really sorry to hear! I just wanted to see if you wanted to join me and my friends? Us girls have to stay together you know!"

"Wow that is so sweet! Thank you so much, it was very kind of you to care. But my friend actually showed up just then otherwise I would have love to!" I can't help but think if only those girls had a nice girl like this help them out, maybe they wouldn't have disappeared so easily. Safety in numbers after all.

"Oh okay, no worries then! Well we will have to party next time! I am like always here so if you see me around don't be afraid to say hi!" She says with a big grin.

"I will remember that, thanks a lot! Have a good night" I smile and make my way to the bar to meet Dick and Wally. My eyes are starting to hurt, I am about ready to call it a night.

...

**11:50pm**

**Dick's POV**

God I hate watching this, I know it is only a mission but to see this guys… look at her like that, when they have the nerve to touch her. When she said she was going to engage Luke Jenkins I tensed all over, anxiety washing all over me. I am sure Wally notices too, he has been giving me sad looks all night, like he knows something I don't. I still don't like this. A couple of times she has disappeared in the crowed and my heart almost stops, sinks just for a little bit until I see her again. I have a sick feeling that she will disappear in that crowed and I won't be able to get her back. Sometimes I wish she just stayed Barbara Gordon and not Batgirl. I could keep her safe that way, I could try. But I know she wouldn't be the same girl I love, Batgirl is a big part of her and I love and hate that. Love as a friend way of course, not that I need to be explaining that to myself…

My mind keeps wondering back to the bar when she was so close, being caught off guard, pushed into her, grabbing her arms, being only a few inches from her, so close to kiss. Her lips so red, so inviting I could barely look away, my eyes travelling down… only for a second, I couldn't help it. She is so… Shit the pendent! I look up, meeting her eyes, I lose track of what I was going to say, shit! Say something! This is weird. Her eyes, she looks, shocked? Distracted. What is she thinking?

My mind snaps back, I see her coming out of the crowed towards us, I straighten up from my relaxed pose leaning against the bar. Not that I have felt relaxed at all tonight.

"Dick, Dick!" Amy, the girl in the purple dress snaps her fingers in front of my face, damn I forgot about her, again. I am surprised she has hung around this long; I have been ignoring her all night. I guess because I am paying for this night for her and her friend.

"Sorry, I just spotted my friend." I gently move her out of the way, never moving my eyes from Babs. It is good to stop pretending I don't know her, to watch her flirting with other guys… really it has been a shit night.

She is trying to get through the crowd, I call out to her and put my hand out for her to take, she takes it, I close my hand around her small soft hand and pull her through the crowed causing her to knock into me. Oh god not again, act cool, pretend like you _meant_ to do that. I engulf her into a hug picking her off the ground.

"There you are, it is about time you showed your sorry ass!" her face is flushed red, I caught her off guard, I seem to be doing that a lot to her lately, I laugh out loud and she relaxes. That bright smile I know and love comes back to her face,

"back up boy, my personal space has been violated enough today. And my ass isn't sorry, it is proud and wonderful" ouch, but I know she is just joking and it is nice to be our old selves for once.

"And don't I know it, it is looking fine today Miss Gordon" I purposely check it out with a raised eye-brow. She punches me lightly in the shoulder causing me to lose my balance briefly.

"And you wonder why I brag you two! Nice to see you Babs" Wally gets up and engulfs her into a hug, then breaking the moment

"but damn that ass"

"Omg! You two are horrible to me tonight!" she punches him in the arm too and we laugh.

"Just so you know Wally we can say the same crap about you and Artemis, the sexual tension between you two is crazy! But the ego you both have is stopping what a cute couple you would make!" Wally is surprised by the remark but brushes it off

"you really need to get your eyes check BG, not saying she isn't smoking, I mean my eyes work exceptionally well but she irritates the crap out me! And if that was the case then you two are the same but million times worse because you pretend to be best friends." There was no winning with either of these people, but I will admit I am finding it amusing to watch, oh shit those girls do not look pleased with what we are saying, we are jerks. Babs rolls her eyes.

"Not that I need to prove anything to you Wally but would a girl who is in love with this meat sack be willing to make friends with his lady friend at the bar?" she moves past him and approaches the girls.

"Hey I am really sorry about these two losers. I am Barbara Gordon, their friend, but I am starting to question why." She puts out her hand and the girls look slightly less pissed that now they are being welcomed and a part of the conversation again. I was kind of hoping she would help us get rid of these girls but instead in typically friendly Barbara way she makes friends with them. Great.

Babs is to my right and Amy to my left, Sky on her left and Wally next to her. After talking for about 10 minutes, Barbara leans in as it is hard to hear over the music, she says she is going to head off as it is getting late. I know for a fact she wouldn't be tired yet, it is just after 12 and she is a bat which means she is used to not going to bed until 4 am or later sometimes.

She waves to everyone else as I am guessing she can't be bothered making a screen saying bye to everyone. I grab her arm,

"Hold on, I don't want you walking home alone" she gives me a look at sayings '_you better let go of my arm before I break your face'_ I do, then I lean in and whisper in her ear.

"I didn't mean it like that, I know you can look after yourself, I just need a reason to get out of here, please let me play good friend making sure my sweet young girl- friend doesn't walk home alone dressed like that" she still doesn't look impressed but she rolls her eyes and I know she will play along.

"Hey I am going to make sure she gets home alright. It was really nice to meet you two, I had a really good time. Wally, are you going to come back with us?" the girls don't look too impressed but I really don't care anymore, I just want to leave.

"Oh man, yeah actually I will come with. Sorry girls, but thanks for hanging with us, I had a really good time and I have your number Sky, so can I call you later?" He gets up from the couch he was sitting on and move towards us.

"Um yeah sure. It was nice hanging with you boys too, we should go on a double date or something sometime soon!" fuck, she had to say it.  
I say bye again look for the door, it is going to be a struggle to get to it.

"Grr I just want to get out of here, you are too slow. Here follow me" Babs impatiently gabs my hand, she looks to the crowd thinking, then pushes though and drags me behind her not caring who I hit on the way through, I am a lot bigger than her so it isn't so easy to just squeeze through, but I had to say it is affect because we are outside in no time.

"Guys, wait for me!" Wally struggles to catch up, mm maybe should of waited and helped him.

We get outside, her hand slides out of mine once again and she puts both hands in the air and yells "freedom!" I can't help but laugh, then without thinking pull her into a hug and pick her off the ground, spinning her around; she lets out a small squeak in surprise and then laughs as I put her on the ground.

"What was that for?"

"I don't know, I just felt like it! That was stressful, let's not do it again anytime too."

"Dick-" she does that soft light-hearted smile,

"Yeah I know Babs, that is doubtful but I just wish this case was done so the next time we go out like this, we can actually hang together! You know I think that was the first time we ever went out to a club together. Now that is just sad!"

"Really? We went to a few bars but I guess you are right, every time I go out dancing I go with the girls. Well next time we will go all together! It will be fun!" god that smile. What is wrong with me today, I just can't keep my eyes off her. Those red lips, so…

"Thanks for waiting guys! I almost died in that pit of death" Wally. I roll my eyes. We all start walking towards the zeba tube.

"So the big guy let us off early tonight, back to Mount Justice, watch a movie? Play a card game?" I say, it is a nice night, I don't want to go to bed just yet.

"Typical Bats, it is almost 1am and you want to play card-games! But why not"

"What do you say Babs?" I turn to look at her, she is staring at the sky, deep in thought. Her arms wrapped around herself, god she must be cold, she is wearing practically nothing! Again... not that I was looking, stupid brain.

"Hey, take this, you are freezing!" I take off my dress-shirt, it isn't that warm but it is better than nothing. We still have another 10 minutes walk to the zeba tube.

"Oh sorry I was tuning out, yeah a card game sounds fun! Oh are you sure? That obvious hey? Thanks Wingnut!" I shake my head, name calling, always name calling.

"That obvious. What are you staring at?" she takes my shirt and puts it on, pulling down the sleeves so she can hold onto them. She looks up at me and smiles; she seems more relaxed right now. I think she pulls off my shirt better than I do.

She skips a few steps in front and does a spin, she soaks in the cold air, closes her eyes, smiles and lets her head go back, opens her eyes and looks up at the sky then at me.

"I just love the smell of a cold nights air after it rains, looking up at the nights sky I feel so small, nothing matters for a little bit. If you really listen you will hear nothing at all, it is peaceful, and it is intoxicatingly good." I can't help but smile even brighter at that. It was nice she could just forget about everything that has happened today, the mission, and appreciate and enjoy something as simple as the night sky.

Wally bursts out laughing "girl you are high, are you sure you didn't drink anything tonight? No case of the munchies coming on is there?" she sticks out her bird figure and we all laugh. God I love times like these with my friends. Sometimes you forgot with everything else going on that we are actually all really good friends. Not just fish-bowl friends. It was what made all the pain and tears worth wild.

...


	2. Continued

_**Hey I would just like to say a massive thank-you for my first 3 followers! You all made my day when I saw that in my e-mail inbox! You are awesome and I already love you :D**_

_**On a random note sorry for the crappy charter name! I just learnt how to upload chapters, struggle I know!  
Anyways this may seem like a silly note but I completely forgot that Barbara has a photographic memory...but for this story she doesn't sorry! haha **_

_**Also there is smut in this... so you are warned. Let me know what you think of the story so far.**_

**Mount Justice, Sunday 1:10am **

*Recognized: Kid Flash-B-Zero-Three. Recognized Nightwing-B-Zero-One. Recognized: Batgirl B-Zero-fourteen*

Dick has his glasses on, he finds it annoying to cover his eyes but he has to on the off chance one of his teammates figure out who he is and then the entire bat-family by association. Besides Barbara, she doesn't have that problem; they shouldn't make the connection between them. She just doesn't mention "Richard Grayson" being one of her friends just in case they do.

Babs walked about three meters, lets out a breath and said "Finally!" dramatically dropping to the ground and pulling off her shoes and throwing them across the room, then lying back onto the floor while the other two just stare and laugh.

"Are you quite right there BG?" Wally asks as he kicks her in the tummy in a friendly way, she slaps him away "I am perfectly content, why do you ask my dear friend?"

"Oh no reason, it is perfectly normal to do thing things you do my friend." He just shakes his head while grinning, "I'm starved; I am getting food! Anyone want anything?"

Dick decides to copy his friend and lie on the ground next to her "Nah I am cool, thanks anyways"

"Same here Wally"

"Oh so is this like a strange thing you two do? You guys are freaks, I don't know why we are friends" he says light heartily. Dick responds with a grin "nope, I just decided I wanted to see what the deal was, I don't get it. Babs?"

"Sometimes boys you don't need a reason to do things, sometimes you just got to do. But also my feet hurt and this seemed like a good idea" she giggles, she was quite happy to just lie there for an hour or so, besides the fact it was a bit cold she was content.

"So much for _'they are comfortable'_" Dick points out.

"All shoes are comfortable until an extent. You wouldn't understand; it's a girl thing."

"You're right I don't get it" Dick replies, he is glad he doesn't have to worry about footwear this much.

Wally ran to the kitchen and back in less than one minute and comes back with a sandwich in his hand "you guys still on the ground I see. Oh and look who is awake."

Artemis walks in stares at the ground with an unimpressed face, "what are you doing on the ground? Have you guys been drinking? You do seem to like to hang in weird places when you are drunk."

"No, we just felt like lying down, it isn't that weird guys! And what weird places are you talking about?" Babs replies, honestly you would think being in a cave full teenagers with odd hobbies and powers they wouldn't think this was so weird.

"Like the time we were drunk and you brought me into the bathroom to talk about how you thought that guy was hot and you wanted to-"

"Hey! That was private! And not weird, everyone does that! It is bounding."

"Oh what guy Babs, it was me right?" Dick teased and poked her in the stomach.

"Oh yeah totally. Has anyone ever told you, that you are up yourself? But on a side note, the bathroom thing is completely normal"

"Some might have mentioned it once or twice. But she's right Artemis, girls do wonder off to the bathroom together and talk for ages, it is an odd behaviour. Sometimes one might drag me in there but it is not usually for talking" Dick grins, Wally almost chocks on his food from laughter.

"Gross. Okay but what about when we were all drunk and you two decided that it would be a good idea to go in the freezing cold and sit on the roof; that is just stupid and weird." Artemis relies pointing at the two on the floor.

"She has you there Gordon."

"You mean _US_, don't pin this all on me pixie boots."

They hear a bedroom door opening and footsteps coming down the hall, "Good now you guys have woken up Connor" Artemis states.

"You mean _we_, if I am not mistaken you are the one talking so much about strange places to be" Wally felt the need to point that out to be annoying.

"What the hell is going on, it is 1:30am! People are trying to sleep!" a grumpy Superboy, AKA Connor Kent (Superman's cone) walks in rubbing his eyes.

"Well hello to you too Mr Grumpy" says Barbara.

"Oh hi- what the hell are you guys doing on the ground? And what are you wearing Batgirl?!"

"Okay people need to stop asking both of those questions, it is becoming annoying!" Barbara pushes herself to a sitting position with her legs still out straight on the ground. She fiddles with her skirt, trying to prevent flashing her underwear to her friends.

"Sorry, it is just, you look different that is all… in a good way, aw sorry this is sounding bad. All I am saying is that you look nice."

"Thanks Connor, don't worry, you have actually been the nicest so far. These two are bigs!" she points to the other boys.

"Hey!" both boys exclaim.

Artemis sarcastically pips up again "why doesn't that surprise me. But really, you are all dressed up, not to mention you two are wearing matching tops, in different colours, real adorable by the way. Where were you?" their smiles leave their faces. Forced to remember the reason why the world needs heroes.

Dick drags himself off the ground and answers "it isn't for a fun night out if that is what you were thinking. We were on an undercover mission. Well mostly Batgirl and I but Wally helped us out. Mostly keeping me from looking like a creep in a club while I play back up to Babs, meet our bait"

"Hi" she waves, that brought a half-smile to everyone's faces. But sure enough everyone here had been watching the news and guessed what the case was about.

"Does that mean you guys found anything?" Connor asks, trying to not to think about that his teammate and dear friend was all dolled up to attract some creep. Barbara gets up, her domain has changed to Batgirl mode; she tried to avoid thinking about the case as long as she could. But now it was back to business.

"It means I had to take a whole heap of crap from creeps all night the whole while another girl was already taken. We were too late."

She walks over to her shoes and bends down to pick them up, "sorry guys, I just wish we could do something more."

"No need to apologise. We are all just frustrated, we will find them; it is what we do." Dick replies. She avoids looking at him knowing that he is watching her with that same old worried face he gets.

"Sorry guys, thinking about it now I don't think I will be up for playing cards. I am going to do a bit more digging and up-load the video feed from this necklace and then send it to the bat-cave. Don't worry I stopped recording once we were out of the club."

"Wow good thinking, I completely forgot about the camera; that would have been embarrassing if Batman heard everything we were saying! Don't worry about the cards, we can play another time." Wally wasn't about to suggest she just go to bed, he knew the Bats for a while now and it was wasting your breath to try to convince them to stop when their mind had already changed into work mode. He didn't like it but none of us were perfect so who was he to try to change their ways? He would only step in when things got real bad, like three days with no sleep and a gun wound, then he might suggest sleep.

"I will come help, I am not ready to sleep just yet. Here let me take your shoes while you take that necklace off" Dick says as he walks towards her. She does as he says, then they say goodnight to the others and leave for the office.

Connor, Wally and Artemis stay where they are for a minute thinking about the case, thinking about the missing girls and their teammates.

"How was it Wally?" Artemis breaks the silence. She wanted to know more about their mission. She knows they can handle it but it doesn't mean she can stop worrying about the dark and gloomy birds that walked off.

"It was… intense. I mean nothing really happened but gee it was hard to know who could be the 'bad guy' and who was just a normal creep. We casually talked to a few people, trying to sus out if any of them knew anything. But really we were there to just watch out for Barbara."

He let a sign, he suddenly feels very tired but continues, "To be honest it was hard to watch" he rubs the back of his head, "Nightwing was trying to be cool about it all but you can tell he wasn't happy about it. I mean we all weren't… but… he took it especially hard. I swear he almost knocked out one of the guys who… um grabbed her. But she took care of it, so it was fine. Grrr I just wish we could have gotten the guy, then that whole night wouldn't of felt so… pointless." He started to raise his voice but stopped himself from saying anything else, it was pointless after all.

"That is fucking shit." Connor stated.

"Why didn't they ask for help?! I know their identities, I could have helped out Barbara, I could have-"

"No! Um, I mean, no. It wasn't necessary having two bai-of you out there." Wally interrupted Artemis. He didn't want to think about having to watch her be_ bait_ as well. Watching one friend do it was enough, he wasn't about to watch another, especially her… he couldn't think about that.

"Again, sometimes I question the Bat-clan's methods. I mean I guess I see their point. Cops do it every day. But still. They have a lot more back-up. Whatever, I am done for tonight, there isn't anything we can do now. I am off to bed, night guys." Connor walked off. The others were thinking the same thing. But the 'Bat-clan' did know how to get results, so maybe it was worth it? They both knew that most of_ them _would say yes, if it meant results.

Wally looked up to see Artemis staring at him, deep in thought. Sometimes Wally thinks he would do just about anything to just be able to peek inside of that brain of hers. Maybe BG was right, maybe there is something there….

"Hey, let's not think about it now, yeah? Come on, I will make us a hot chocolate" he tries to get a smile from her, it half- works, he gets a half smile and she nods her head and follows him to the kitchen. He was pretty sure she would say no to that hot chocolate suggestion, maybe there is hope here after all.

**...**

**Chapter 6**

**Mount Justice, office: 2:30am **

**Dick's POV**

We have up loaded the video file, already sent it to the Bat-cave, going over bits of it, but to be honest I would rather not. It is uncomfortable seeing things from this point of view, it makes it too obvious who is directly "checking-her out". We are sitting on work wheelie chairs facing the computer, I lean back; that is it, one more minute and I am putting an end to this, we aren't getting anywhere. Babs is to my right, she is still wearing my top but has now rolled up the sleeves. Her red lip-stick has mostly faded now too, her hair has been pulled up into a messy bun on top of her head. She is staring at the screen, writing down names and small details in case any of it becomes important.

I let my eyes wonder, her top has slid down just a bit, revealing the top of her black- lace bra, it is wrong to look but to be honest I am not even thinking and damn I didn't know she owned or like that kind of stuff. I always figured her for a plain wearing underwear… not that I have ever put too much thought into what she is wearing underneath… damn who am I kidding, sometimes that is_ all_ I think about. She leans closer to the desk, pushing her legs back and crossing her feet around the legs of the chair, it sends her skirt a little higher up her thigh. Fuck I need to settle down, I look away. She lets out a sign and lends back into the chair, unlocking her legs and unwrapping the bun in her hair, letting it fall down her shoulders, reaching just the middle of her chest.

"I am done. I can't think of anything else. This is driving me crazy." You can say that again.

She turns her chair to the side and faces me. Moves it a bit closer and with-out asking lifts her feet up and places them on my lap. Leaning more into her chair, putting her head back and makes herself at home. She looks so relaxed, so delicate and graceful; meanwhile I am tense all over! I place my hands on her legs as reflex but half regret it as her legs are bear and smooth, they feel sooo good and I can't help think it would be nice to run them up… no stop that. God, that smell, it must be her body butter, it smells so good, that isn't helping; I have to stop thinking like _this_ about_ her_…

"Are you alright Dick? You haven't said a word in a while" I look up to face her. That was a mistake too; I can see right up her skirt, she is wearing black underwear. I think she realises as she tries to move it down a bit without saying anything, it doesn't help much.

I smile, "mm that feels so good" she says. I can feel my checks getting red, without realising it I had started drawing shapes and circles on her legs with my finger. I decided not to stop as I can see it relaxes her.

"You're welcome. I am just quite because… I am tired and just want to think about something else." It was pretty much true.

We stay like that for a while. It is really nice, I haven't just relaxed like this in a long time; I can feel my whole body starting to relax. My circles get bigger and longer, it is addictive, it helps me lose focus, to get lost in nice thoughts for once.

Barbara shifts her legs, crap I forgot that she would actually _feel_ this and might get uncomfortable. I take my hands away quickly. I look over at her to see her reaction, she looks… flushed? Avoiding eye-contact with me, biting her lower lip, you don't think that she…? I can feel her moving her feet off me but without thinking I grab her legs, she is startled and looks up. That got her to look at me. Our eyes lock, searching for… something.

"Um you have my legs…" she whispers.

"Oh yeah… I just… um… sorry, I mean, where are you going?" I let go… what was I thinking? She gets up, pulling her skirt down a little bit, breaking eye contact she pulls hair out of her face.

"I was just thinking I might use the ladies' room and then head off to bed. Is that cool with you?" she says with an eye-brow raised and questioning smile; she is making fun of me, great.

I smile and get up at the same time "yeah sorry, I am completely out of it. I better do the same. But how about a hot chocolate between the bathroom break and bed? My shout, which really means microwaved milo" she laughs

"Okay boy wonder, you're on. I am a sucker for hot chocolate" she giggles again shaking her head and walks off. I can't help it as I follow her with my eyes; I don't think I have ever felt this memorized by a person before. Or maybe this is just the first time I am wear of it…really aware, like hypo-aware. What am I doing?!

**Mount Justice kitchen: 3am **

**Barbara's POV**

"Where is my hot chocolate boy!" I demand.

"Shhh Babs, don't want to wake up everyone, again" Dick says in a soft-hearted way, he is wearing that amazing Grayson smile that every girl goes crazy for. Normally I would protest that I don't know what that is, but that would be lying. It is contagious and I can't help but match it with a smile of my own. He has taken off shoes, making him look more relaxed, actually he just seems to be in a better mood now generally; it is nice to see, especially how the day started. That felt like a life-time ago now. He hands me my hot chocolate, it smells so good and feel so warm!

"Yummmm! Thanks Dick!" he shakes his head.

"What?"

"Nothing, I am just thinking is all"

"Dammit you know that drives me crazy! Tell me Wingnut!" I poke him in the arm a few times with my free hand.

"Ouch alright! Alright! I just thought it was strange you not calling me an insult for once, it was a nice change" really? How odd, mm I guess I do a lot don't I.

"Naww did I make you feel good inside Dicky-bird?"

"Ha-ha you're so funny Babs, but maybe a little. Anyways come on, I want to show you something." He walks out of the kitchen and I hurry to follow him,

"what, where?" I know… I am pushy.

"You will see, and it is in my room, that cool?" his room… of course, I have been there a million times, why am I starting to feel strange about it now though? Maybe because it is 3am.

"Please, it wouldn't be the first visit to the famous Nightwing's room- wait that sounded bad" they both laughed at that. It was nice we could just laugh.

We get to his room, he walks in first, it is dark and cold and I stand awkwardly by the door. Why am I so awkward all of the sudden? Dammit pull yourself together girl.

His room is pretty standard, four white walls, big enough for a double bed, one bedside table and lamp, a chest of draws, and a small on-sweet, standard toilet, shower and basin, comfortable; practical. The bed is to the right as you enter the room, the chest of draws to the left in the corner, bathroom on the opposite side of the bed to the right. Dick leads over his bed and reaches to switch on the light, I watch him as he does it, his shirt rids up exposing his back, I can't help but think what the front would look like…feel like… dammit girl focus.

He gets up and walks over to me, locking eyes for a brief moment before grabbing my left arm with his pulling me into the room a bit then closing the door, he lets go and my heart leaps just a bit. He walks to the left wall next to his chest of draws; he squats down and clicks out of place a bored. Cleaver, even to the train eye they could almost miss that, almost.

He pulls out a small yellow and red photo album then moves to sit on the end of his bed. I sit next to him bring my right leg up and under me as I wiggle my way close to him so I can see. His elbows are leaning on his knees as he stares down at it, he hasn't opened it yet. I put my right arm behind him and with my left I place it on his left hand holding the album, I then lean my head on his shoulder, to show my support, it feels so natural. He lets out a breath I didn't realise he was holding and opens up the first page, it is a copy of photos he has in his room of his family, biological family. They are all in costume out front of a big circus tent, he must be about five in that photo, his mother is kneeling behind him with her head on his shoulder hugging her little boy. His father is also squatting behind Dick with his left hand on his shoulder. He was born into the circus, it is where he got of his spirt from, I was sure of it. "It is a beautiful photo Dick. I am sure your parents are looking over you now and are very proud of the man you have become."

He lets out another breath and with his right hand he moves a tear from his face. "Thanks. For everything you did today. I know it was your idea. I just wanted to share this with you, I know you have already seen these photos, they are just copies that I had made so I could have a bit of home with me here, you know?"

"I think it is really nice. I don't mind, I like seeing them too. They seem like they were amazing parents."

"They were", he flips the page, it's another photo of his parents. Then the next few are new. They are of his family now, Bruce, Alfred, Jason and Tim, not all together… but a few different ones. Then one of us, some when we were younger and then older, some even as Batgirl and Robin. Sadly I don't think we have any recent ones. I was a bit surprised there was a photo of just me in there, I don't look too impressed, I don't have that many photos of_ just_ me and it seems in this photo I don't look too impressed it was being taken. It was during one of our homework sessions, I am lying on the ground in my school uniform with books in front of me sticking my finger up at him. Real classy, honestly there had to be better photos of me to pick, surely!?

"Well that's it. What do you think?" I take my head off his shoulder, take my leg out from under me and lean back onto the bed.

"It was nice, thanks for showing me" he lies on the bed next to me, puts his arms up and under his head.

"No worries" I turn over and lean on my elbows, looking into his eyes.

"What?" he whispers, I don't reply and instead put my head on his chest and left arm over him, this was nice. He moves his arms from under him; I clearly caught him off guard. It is about time honestly. I smile at that and he puts his arm around me and squeezes me briefly. I close my eyes, this feels so nice. He starts drawing on my arm again, it feels so good. I do the same thing but on his chest, drawing a little Robin and Nightwing symbols, he lets out a little laugh. He draws a little bat-symbol too.

He starts to move, oh it is over, he probably wants to get some sleep; it must be close to 4 am now. I can't help but feel a bit disappointed at that. I start to get up but he grabs my arm with sudden desperation and I turn around, "don't go, I was just moving up this end of the bed, I am kind of falling off there. Of course you don't have to stay if you don't want… I was… it is just nice to have you here."

I really should have left then… I know it, the rational side of me is telling me off but the other part of me just craves human touch, to just be near someone… I am too tired to flight with myself at the moment… I give into my emotions, smile and crawl over to him, pulling the blankets down and up around us as I cuddle up to him. I know I have probably crossed a line here that I can't take back. It isn't like we haven't slept next to each other or in the same bed but just… it didn't really ever feel this… it feels so… nice… but dangerous. Stop brain, just enjoy this. I close my eyes and Dick turns off the lamp, pulls me closer, he is so warm and we fit so well together. Maybe I am just over-tired that is why everything just feels amazing, maybe it is really nothing at all, maybe he feels none of… this.

About 10 minutes later… it feels more like an hour! I can't sleep! My hormones are driving me crazy… this again, was a bad idea. I repeat, BAD IDEA! Dick is asleep I can tell by his heavy breathing, lucky him. All my thoughts are full of Dick taking me right here and now; or me just hoping on top and…STOP BRAIN/ HORNY SIDE OF ME! Maybe if I turn over I can get some distance and stop this….he shifts and cruels his arm around me pulling me closer, I think he is still asleep. So much for distance. Umm is that what I think it feels like….

Dicks arm starts to move slowly from the top of my chest moving down to my left boob, lightly squeezing it…umm is he still asleep?! I don't move… okay… a small part of me wants to see where this will go… not that I want to_ actually_ have sex with him… just I was always a bit curious.. all thoughts disappeared as his hand traveled to my stomach and then hip, sliding down the slide of me, it sent shivers all over me…oh god don't stop…. he suddenly stopped, dammit. I don't move, afraid to scare him off; for once not wanting to make things awkward. Also I would have to explain why I didn't freak out and stop him… I would rather avoid that.

He quickly sits up and turns his back, "oh god Babs I am so sorry, I didn't realise… I just… well… as you would put it… fucking hormones, they have been driving me crazy all night… you just look so… driving me crazy… I am so sorry."

Okay so it wasn't just me… he has his face in this hands; clearly frustrated at himself… or just frustrated. I know the feeling… maybe, "no, no it is fine" I sit up and face him, sitting on my knees. I put my left hand out to his face and gentle turn his face around to look at me, not that we can see each other clearly, the only light that is given off is from the blue light coming off the alarm clock, but it was enough. He is clearly confused but doesn't resist, I let go and go to slowly slide the shirt he gave me earlier that night off, his eyes widen, I bit my lip to stop myself from having a little giggle over that. It feels amazing to have that sort of reaction out of someone by only doing so little.

"Babs… I don't know... I mean… I so badly want to…" he is clearly torn and a sick part of me is getting off on it, I am just waiting for him to let go… let go like I did ages ago.

"It doesn't have to mean anything, actually it doesn't. And we won't even have-" wow why can't I say that word out loud with him… I can feel my checks burning bright red. I know I sound confident but I feel like any minute I could fall apart! I am just hoping I will fall apart with a bang… if you know what I mean.

"-do –it, we can just muck around… get it out of our system..." he doesn't respond, crap maybe I was wrong! He isn't attracted to me…"of course if you don't want…" I start to pull the shirt back on, well this is embarrassing.

"No- I umm, are you sure I am not dreaming" he grins.

"Oh I am pretty sure; you might want to check on the off chance though". He gets up and turns around discarding his t-shirt, and holy-moly those abs, I could spend all day staring; it is settled, he must be half god, there is no way any man could look this good and just be plain old human!

He shakes his head, he realised I was bluntly checking-him-out, it seems to only increase his grin; I didn't think that was possible at this point. He draws my eyes, it is intoxicating how he can get my attention like that and keep it. I feel myself losing control of the situation, now it is his turn to make a move (that he wasn't asleep for!). He starts to crawl onto the bed, one hand on either side of me, crawling closer, forcing me to lean back until both of arms are behind me keeping me from falling, he stops only inches away from me. I can feel his breath on my lips, my smile fades and my lips slightly part in anticipation… he whispers "and you're sure about this, it isn't too late to stop, whenever… you just need to say"

"oh stop talk-"that is all he needed to hear, he presses his lips to mine desperately cutting me off, rough, and then softly, leaning onto the bed and bring his right hand to cup the back of my head. It sends shivers all the way up my body; tingling my lips, I don't want it to stop and want more all at the same time.

Each kiss becomes less hesitant than the last, building up confidence and desire with each one. I move forward, taking back some of the control. Pushing up back onto my knees, lifting up and pushing him down to a sitting position on his knees, grabbing both sides of his face and leaning more into each kiss. Determine to not break the moment, not stopping for even a breath. He moves his right hand to my waist while sliding his other from the back of my neck to my lower back, pulling me in tighter. I let out a moan, he goes tense all over, grabbing tighter, moving his left hand down my thigh pulling it around his waist and pulls. I put both arms around him and move my other knee around so I am sitting on his lap, he moves both hands up my thighs pushing my skirt up and grabbing my behind… it sends another surge of shivers through me. I break the kiss, taking a breath exposing my neck as he kisses it, he is done going slow, and it is becoming too hard to hold back.

"Babs… you're so sexy" he says in between kisses pressing me down into the bed moving his hands all over… it is killing me. A part of me can't comprehend that this is actually Dick making me feel _this_ way. He shoves his tongue into my month and we move faster, fighting for dominance. He pulls away for what feels like a life-time, to pull my top off, he smiles to himself.

"What?" I say between breaths,

"lace, nice", I grin and lean up, pulling him back for a deep kiss, he advances his arms behind me and with one hand up-does the strap, he has clearly done this before- don't think about that dammit!

He pulls my bra off, I feel exposed and it feels amazing. He moves his hand and clasps my breast, he knows all the right buttons- I moan again and I feel a smile on his lips as he kisses me, moving from my mouth down my neck… to my chest. I let my hands roam his back and arms, grabbing him tight to encourage him to bit a bit rougher, to not be afraid. He comes back up and kisses my mouth, moving his body to my right, leaning to the side he brings his right arm up to my face, gently stokes the side of my face with the back of his hands, then running it over my hair, following it down my chest, breast, stomach, waist… thigh... knee… then slowly running up my inner thigh. It is slowly driving me wild and he knows it. He stops for a moment, moving his hand to my butt and giving it another squeeze "Dick..." I breathe in deep, he grins.

I need to make him desperate too, torture him like he is torturing me! I kiss his inner neck, pulling myself so I am slightly touching him with my breasts, moving my hand down from his chest, then running my fingers gently above his waist brand teasing… he grabs me tighter and lets out a moan; _got ya_, I grin. I undo his belt and zip. He kisses me again, deeper, more intense. The same time I move my hand under his underwear to grab his man-hood, he moves his hand up and grabs my underwear pulling it down to just below my knees then moving his hand to my inner thigh… my body responds opening up to him. His hand lightly grazes over me sending a wave through me. I can tell I am soaked; there is really no way I couldn't be right now… I can't remember ever feeling this turned on. His stokes become stronger and faster and we both pick up the pace, moving with each other, determine to make each move set the other over the edge first. But at last Dick comes first, breathing heavily into my neck.

He quickly recovers and is determine to get me there, he goes faster, harder and then plants his fingers into me, causing one last surge to take over, I moan way too loud, I couldn't help this one. He kisses me roughly to cover up the sound; I can feel him grinning and holding back his enjoyment at the sound. He then settles down next to me. We both stare at the roof, exhausted, satisfied… yet I still have that itch; that need for more… I know that isn't a line we can cross. Even if I am pretty sure it will be heaven… stop it brain!

"That was amazing"

"Agreed Dick…but we better get cleaned up" we both let out a laugh.

We do and I get dressed, including stealing that shirt again. We decide I better get back to my own room because people will be up in the next 2 hours and we don't want to draw any attention to ourselves. That and I am not sure I can trust myself to not want more than what I just got... As I am about to leave I get on my tippy-toes and put my arms around him one last time, to kiss him completely before this night has to end. He wraps his arms around me picking me up and leaning me against the door. I can feel the heat rising again so I push him away gently and smile, he understands but gives me a half-smile in return. We don't say anything more, it is best to leave these things unsaid, it was a one off thing, it won't happen again. As much as it was… it can't, things would get too complicated. I walk away.


	3. A bad feeling

_**This one is a bit of a long one too, let me know if you find it too much at once! If you have managed to find the story interesting enough to keep reading I would like to say a big thank you! Hopefully that means I am doing something right! haha  
Also I don't know the real numbers for the zeta tubes... so if it really bugs you, let me know what that is otherwise I am just going to leave it haha**_

**Chapter 6: Mount Justice, Sunday 10am**

*Recognised: Robin-B-Zero-nineteen*

Robin walks into the cave ready for today's group training session. He is wearing black tracksuit pants, black singlet with an unzipped baggy red jacket. He has his Robin mask on because it is easier to train in it without having to worry about it falling off. He has his backpack hanging off his right shoulder carrying a spare change of clothes for afterwards. Walking towards the kitchen he can hear light conversation and giggles. He isn't in the mood today for light-heart conversation; actually he is in no mood for any conversation. The case was really starting to bother him, he was sure that they would of have made more progress last night, yet nothing promising came from it.

"Hey Robin!" said a cheerful blond getting up from her seat at the kitchen bench.

"Hey Cassie" Cassie Sandsmark, AKA, Wonder Girl. She hovers over and gives him a hug; Tim normally doesn't do hugs but he lets it slide for her, he didn't mind her hugs so much but he would never let it show, he always kept an un-telling expression. He learnt that skill off Bruce pretty fast. He greets the others. So far most people were up, Garfield Logan, AKA Beast Boy sat over in the connection lounge room watching a documentary about lions, Conner next to him, not looking too impressed as usual. Wally was in the kitchen cooking a second breakfast by the looks of it, he ate a lot more than most due to his fast metabolism as a speedster. Artemis sat on the bench next to him chatting away while he cooks. M'gann M'orzz, the alien from mars, you might know her as Megan Morse, AKA Miss Martian sat at the kitchen table drinking herbal tea. Kaldur'ahm, Kaldur for short, AKA Aqualad sat next to her. He isn't here often these days; he used to lead this team until he handed over to Nightwing. Now spends his days off doing his own thing but he comes back every now and again to help out or to train and catch up with everyone. Jaime Reyes, AKA Blue Beetle and Bart Allen, AKA Impulse (another speedster but from the future: long story) sits at the table cross from them. Karen Beecher, AKA Bumblebee sits on her boyfriend Mal Duncan, AKA Guardian lap at the table as well. Everyone appears ready for training which is meant to start 15 minutes from now, well the warm up run anyways, the real training starts at 10:45 am, it is a late training session today because it is Sunday.

Tim studied the team, trying to work out what was wrong with this picture. _"Wait, where is Dick and Barbara?"_ he wondered.

It was unlike them to not be ready now, unless they were up all night on a case. Batman told them to call it a night just before 12 pm, that isn't late so there shouldn't be any reason they aren't up yet, unless they did more on the case anyways. Tim knows he can't judge he wanted to keep working on the case in the Bat-cave but Alfred made him go to bed at 1:30 am. He said he wouldn't make any real progress without some sleep; your cognition works better once you are fully rested. He was right and Tim knew it but he couldn't help feeling annoyed about it. Sleep felt like a luxury people like them couldn't afford.

"Not to be a party-pooer guys but it is 10:10 am, we should probably make our way to the beach to start the warm-up run. And where is Nightwing and Batgirl? Are they up yet?" Robin says getting the attention of the room.

"You are a party-pooer, it is Sunday, relax! Typically over-achiever Boy Wonder. And no, they were up late last night working on the Gotham case. And no I didn't think to wake them up, they can be very grumpy sometimes and frankly it isn't often both of them sleep in letting the rest of us off the hock for training! It is great!" Wally says with a big grin. Robin shakes his head in disapproval; he thinks maybe he should wake them up.

"I will go fetch them in a minute Robin. By what I have heard about the case they deserve a little break. You all don't do it enough. Sit down, relax for a minute" Kaldur says in a gentle voice nodding to a spare chair at the kitchen table across from him. "Relax? Relax!" He thought, he wasn't prepared for relaxing; it is a waste of time in his opinion. He realises he is starting to sound like Bruce and decides maybe Kaldur was right. He decides to take the spare seat next to Cassie.

"Relax? I don't think I know what that word means Kaldur, I doubt Robin does either" Nightwing walks in grinning; he is ready for training too. He is wearing his mask, black tracksuit pants and single, matching Robin. They had a lot of the same training gear so they tended to match every now and then but they choose to ignore it.

"It is about time, aren't you meant to be running this session too" Artemis says sarcastically.

"Morning to you too Artemis. It is 10:12 am, still plenty of time. How is everyone this fine morning?" everyone starts talking but Robin just shakes his head. Dick seems way too relaxed today, normally he would be shoving everyone out the door to get started.

"Babs not up yet?" Dick asks the room in general, a few shake their heads in reply.

"Um anyone want to wake her up? I would but I don't want to be punched in the face. I vote someone who she will take pity on. Robin?" He has that big smile of his face that either means he is up to something or he finds something funny, why was he so positive right now? Robin gives him an unimpressed look.

"We both know she won't take pity on me. You are trying to set me up. Get Wally, he can run fast."

"Yeah even I know that is a bad idea" Wally replies.

"Who is setting up Robbie?" BG walks in rubbing her eye trying to wake herself up a bit more, she was still half asleep. They had to laugh a bit at that. She is in black training gear too, black leggings, a black t-shirt with a white bat-symbol on it, black runners and her hair pulled up into a ponytail. She also has finger-less leather gloves on to add a bit of protection while they train, but really she just thought they were cool.

"Goooooood morning Babs, how did you sleep?" she stops, and looks at Dick giving him a suspicious look, he just grins waiting for her respond, she turns and looks at Robin giving him a look, clearly she also thinks he is too cheerful this morning, Robin shrugs his shoulders. Dick couldn't help but feel a little hurt at that, his smile fading a bit, she looks back at him and decides to smile and shake her head.

"Morning Wingnut", she waves to everyone in greeting, she couldn't be bothered saying much else.

"How come Robin gets "Robbie" and I who has known you for a lot longer get insults?!" He says joking around, she ignores him and walks to the kettle boiling the water while figuring out some breakfast.

"Because clearly I am her favourite and you are annoying" Tim jokes, everyone had a laugh at the banter between them. It was nice to hear them being stupid every now and then. It was refreshing, especially for Tim.

Barbara puts on some toast and drinks her tea while she waits for it to be finished, she looks up at the clock and can't believe the time, "guys it is almost 10:30! You aren't waiting on me are you? Why didn't anyone wake me up?"

"We thought we would let you and Nightwing sleep in, we heard you were up late last night." Megan says in a sweet tone you couldn't argue with.

"And apparently you are really grumpy in the morning and no one wanted to be punched in the face" Artemis says stirring pot, she loved winding people up sometimes and you could usually count on Barbara reacting. Barbara face flushes red at the memory of last night, she turns away to get her toast out to prepare her breakfast, she hopes no one notices.

"I am not that grumpy…" Dick notices and he can't help but grin even more for that, the way she was acting Dick almost thought that maybe he did just dream last night. Dick laughs.

"Oh-my-god what!?" she says, he moves to lean against the table next to her.

"Oh nothing. It is just obvious that you are trying to ignore that comment and prove us wrong, that you don't want to punch someone in the face for saying that", she takes a bite out of her toast ignoring him. Everyone has gone back to their own conversations. He just stares at her with a big grin while putting in some toast for himself. She knows she will crack any minute now… she was tired which means her patience was running dangerously low.

She takes her toast; determine to keep the high ground. She sits next to Artemis and Wally on the kitchen bench, finishing her breakfast. Dick joins them and eats his toast while he stares at her with the same grin. He was in a good mood and had the patience to see her creak. He was obsessed with getting any kind of reaction out of her. He would prefer a good reaction but annoying each other was something they just did because well it was fun. Barbara finishes her tea, puts away her dishes and goes to fill up her drink bottle, Dick does the same, copying everything she does. She sits back down and tries really hard to just concentrate on the conversation Wally and Artemis were having, he moves closer.

"Babs…"

"OH MY GOD YOU ARE DRIVING ME CRAZY! STOP BEING SO GOD DAMM HAPPY, IT ISN'T NORMAL!" she kicks him in the leg. He won and creaks up laughing, she couldn't keep her face she did the same. She scared the team into silence; they weren't expecting someone to start yelling out of nowhere, a few of them laugh when they realised what was going on.

"This is what I live with." Tim says shaking his head but smiling, it is nice to see them two happy. It was infectious when those two were happy; it made it easier at the Wayne household. Less serious all the time.

Nightwing gets up and addresses the team "okay guys, now we can go train. It has been a bit of a lazy Sunday but let's try and have a little fun doing today. It is not often we have everyone together training."

**Training Room: 1 pm**

**Dick's POV**

Training has been good so far, went for a 20 minute run, did some cardio excises; I let Megan run those, she likes to play up-beat music at the same time. She is much better at getting people to enjoy it at the same time than I am. Sometimes I can be a bit too focused on the outcome instead of enjoying the journey.

Beastboy, Blue Beetle, WonderGirl, Impulse, Bumblebee, Guardian and Robin stand in a half circle in front of me while I go though some hand-to-hand combat moves. Robin already knows most of these but he is still always keen to make sure every move is prefect, so I get him to help me demonstrate most of the moves. The others sit on a bench against the wall catching up with Kaldur; they have been here the longest so they know most of the moves already, besides Babs, she learned these skills before joining the team, on her own and with Batman, and me of course.

"Alright guys, practice that for 10 minutes then we will do some sparring" I say, walking over to join the others. Everyone is listening to the adventures Kaldur has been up to since he left; Barbara on the other hand is lying on the ground with her legs up on the bench reading a book. I guess you have to take the time you have now to fit those kinds of things in.

There is not a lot of space on the bench so I decide to lift up her feet and steal the bench space. I put her feet on my lap though so it shouldn't bother her too much. She looks up from her book giving me an evil eye; I just shrug my shoulders and smile. She gives a little smile back and goes back to her book, not thinking too much about it. Having her feet on me reminds me of the last night when her legs were in my lap, they were so very smooth and wonderful, my mind wonders to, well not very PG thoughts. I know it was meant to be a one off thing, never to be thought about or discussed again but damn I can't get it out of my mind. I look up to Wally giving me a strange look, oh god was I staring too long at her? Smiling too much? Surely not, Wally isn't that observant!

I listen to the others conversation, joining in a bit but not really paying too much attention. My eyes wonder every now and then down at Babs, she still hasn't moved, expect to play with her hair a little; she is so beautiful in such an effortless way. It is addictive to watch her run her fingers in the back of her ponytail, she probably doesn't realise she is doing it. It is becoming painfully obvious how attracted I am to her. I know I shouldn't be…because…because that isn't us. But at the same time… it felt so_ right_ last night.

"Hey Nightwing!" Impulse shouts out snapping me out of my thoughts, I look up at the boy next to me, waiting for him to continue.

"It has been 15 minutes, can we move on now?" I look at my watch, damn it is not my day today, late for everything.

"Yeah sorry, I forgot to set a timer. Let's spar". I gently move Bab's feet off me; a little disappointed the moment couldn't last just a bit longer. She puts her book down and I put my hand out for her to take. She takes it and I lift her up, "Thanks" she looks up to me like she was going to say something but thought better of it. Her hand slides through mine and the lack of contact makes my heart sink just a little bit. Dammit I am staring again. I look away and move back to the mat. Hand-to-hand combat will get me out of this daze for sure.

"Alright everyone, you know the drill. This is a non-power training session. Because this world is crazy and if you are left without powers anytime you will not have to rely on them to survive or to complete a mission. I know it is a pain for some of you but I personally feel better to know you can all handle yourself without powers. Artemis and Superboy, why don't you start us off" yeah I wasn't asking, we have all done this a million times, it is always good getting other people to start us off every now and then.

"Oh and don't forgot the power inhibitor" they are collars that stop the expression of most powers.

"Oh this is going to be easy. Are you ready to be beaten by a non-powered girl half your size Superboy?" Artemis just like the rest of us loves her banter. She wants to get under his skin, make him angry and unfocused, sloppy. Connor knows this of course, he has known her for years now and this isn't their first match, he clearly finds it amusing she keeps trying.

"Let's just get this over with. Let some of the newbies have a turn at beating your ass once I am done", Artemis runs at him swinging the first bunch.

Artemis usually wins most of her hand-to-hand combats but she got cocky today and made a sloppy move causing her to be caught off guard and losing to Connor, she was not pleased. But I guarantee you she will never do that again, which is why we do these training sessions, to make mistakes in here so we don't do it out_ there_.

Most people have had a few goes now and I think it is about time to call it a quits, I have mostly been giving pointers, only sparring once with Wally, of course winning and again with Mal. Robin just finished sparring again Cassie, WonderGirl. With her power she is vertically unstoppable, anyone would be crazy to try and fight her if they didn't too have powers to match, but without them she still needs a little more work. Robin wins, but doesn't look too happy about it. You can see he didn't feel too comfortable with it, I am not sure but I think he might have a bit of a thing for her but then again he can be hard to read sometimes. Sparring could get a bit awkward sometimes with the opposite sex but I always make sure we all have a match with someone of the opposite sex as a general rule. It sounds silly but it teachers them to handle whatever they have to face. Naturally boys are stronger than girls, meaning girls they have to work harder and think better. Because of that girls could be sneakier, thinking quicker, using their opponents' strength against them or letting their opponent think they have the upper hand and catching them off guard. Us boys have to be aware of that, just because she might seem smaller, harmless, weaker, doesn't mean she isn't deadly, never underestimate your opponent.

"Good job guys, I think most people have gone at least three or four times right?" I ask trying to remember who has fought who.

"Everyone but you! And you have only versed boys, wasn't there that rule about sparring against people of the opposite sex to learn crap from each other?" Impulse says while biting into an apple, when did he get that?

"Oh yeah, that's right, that is a thing." Artemis says, she has a grin on her face, she gives Wally a look and he grins too, they seen to have an understanding of something, I don't like it. And when did they get so close? I thought they couldn't stand each other?

"Um yeah, I forgot about myself. Okay which one of you girls wants to get her butt kick by me? What about –"

"I think Batgirl does", she snaps her head at Wally; sending him a dirty glare.

"First off, I don't get my butt kicked by anyone; I think I made that pretty clear when I kicked the crap out of _yours_. Secondly we, plus Boy Wonder Jr over here spar all the time together so there is really no need in these training sessions" she states.

"She is right, besides getting her butt kicked, I know for a fact I do that all the same" she rolls her eyes, I know she doesn't want to give into peer pressure and spar me but I also know she will because she can't let me get away with that comment.

"That is crap; I kick yours all the time! But if we must let's at least play with the staffs! I haven't practiced with one long one in ages."

I let out a little grin knowing that I was right. I know her too well.

"Great now you have done it, we could be here forever I hope you all know that." Robin has seen us fight a million times now and we are both very competitive, sometimes we won't stop until we are covered in buries, he really couldn't be bothered watching us spar again.

I go to the weapon cabinet and take out two staffs, while Batgirl warms, she slides down into the splits, stretching each leg. My mind wonders to how flexible she actually was… oh thinking like that is going to end with me getting my butt kicked.

I throw her one of the staffs and we face each other ready to fight "Really Batgirl you may as well give up now, we both know I am better with a staff"

"Nah I think I might just embarrass you in front of the team instead pixie boots" she winks and starts spinning the staff around. I start moving mine too to get a feel of the weapon. The gap between us closes, as we start to circle each other. I have to play it smart, knowing BG she has already got a plan of attack. The team cheer for us, same for me, some for Batgirl, probably happy for either one for us to lose for once. I strike for the head, she blocks, I spin fast to go for her side, she blocks to and kicks me on my exposed side at the same. It is okay though, we are just warming up. The strikes become faster, harder, I got her a few times, and she got one or two more lucky shots but nothing close to winning.

"Oh I thought this would be more exciting. Come on Batgirl kick his ass already. Hey someone turn up the music at least" Artemis said.

"Artemis isn't very whelmed Batgirl. And she is clearly rooting for the wrong team" I say stirring.

"Just wait until I win, I guarantee you won't be feeling- the 'asher' as you say" she strikes again but I block and move back.

This is going to take forever; I am going to have to distract her… with what? What names haven't we thrown at each other? It has to be something she wouldn't expect me to say. Mmm "Hey Babs" I grin.

"Oh want to give up already twinkle toes?"

"No, I was just thinking", I go to strike her stomach, she spins and I miss. I turn around quickly to block a head blow.

"That is never a good sign"

"ouch, that hurt my feelings. You look different today…" she seems confused at that but blocks my strike to the side.

"I mean what is that on you?"

"Really, I am insulted you will have to do more than that to distract me" she vocalizes.

"I mean, what is that on your neck, is that a hicky" her eyes widen and she lost concentration for a split second, that is all I needed, I knocked her staff out of her hands and in two big steps I move behind her pulling my staff over her head bring it down on her neck, but she blocks it before it closes around her, using all her strength to stop it from being impossible to get out of.

"That was a cheap shot. But two can play dirty. Which reminds me, have you seen my underwear?" she whispers, instantly bring an imagine of her with her wet underwear below her knees to my mind… being so close to her now really doesn't help, she slides out of my hold and backward kicks me in the stomach sending me a few meters back losing balance. She follows with an around house kick to my hand sending the staff flying across causing some of the team to duck and yell out, then another kick aiming at my upper chest but I manage to get my arms up in time to block most of the impact causing me to fall backwards. Shit!

"Oh shit!" Beastboy said, clearly excited that the fight got more interesting. I quickly get up as she goes for another kick to the stomach, she misses and I go for close combat. I grab her arm as she goes to punch going for a wrist lock but she gets out of it and pushes away, smirking; she thinks she has this but she hasn't yet. A sick part of me is getting turned on by this… which is so very wrong… but good… concentrate on the target Dick!

I circle her, moving her so her back is facing the wall, I do three kicks, a round house, then a side kick and back kick, I know she will block all of them but that is the point, it will force her to move back and be blocked in. I move quickly as she recovers, I push her up against the wall pinning both arms above her head, I move my head in close to her ear "that is much better…" I say in a low seductive voice, she smirks.

"oh look, my song came on"

"What?- " I listen to the song, *man eater- Nelly Furtado*

"Man eater?" I made the mistake of looking in her eyes,

"get it… man eater…" she whispers in my ear brushing her lips by my check… oh… my mind goes blank and I loosen up my grip without realising. In an instant she slips out of my grip, grabs my right hand, shifts to the back of me, kicking my right knee causing me to lose balance and fall down on my knee, she twists my arm into a lock and pushes me against the wall. It happened so fast I didn't realise I had lost until I head everyone cheering in the background. Oh I am not going to hear the end of this!

"And that is how you do it my friends. That is how you take down Nightwing. Don't fight Nightwing, fight the man underneath" she laughs.

"Oh ha ha you have proven your point, you can let go now" she does and walks away, I am guessing with a big grin. I can't help but laugh too, she played well. Serves me right for thinking I could win _that_ game.

Everyone breaks away, packing away the room and departing to their rooms to shower and change. I sit on the bench with Wally and Kaldur leaning back "Dude what was that?"

"What was what Wally?" I reply.

"The fight with Batgirl, you were all whispering and shit, don't think_ I_ didn't notice. It was crazy! You said something she lost balance, she said something and kicked your ass!" mm I didn't think about how it looked.

"She didn't kick my ass that bad, and it was nothing, just insults like always and it wasn't obvious."

"Insults my ass! Really spill. And everyone noticed" I look to Kaldur to see if everyone really notice or if it was just a Wally thing. Kaldur nods in confirmation. I guess we weren't being that careful. There was music playing so I figured no one could hear… besides Superboy but he wouldn't have heard anything unless he wanted to and knowing him he wouldn't have bothered listening in.

"Sorry my friend. It did seem like something was being said" I brushed it off and keep telling them it was nothing. It was nothing too, I just wasn't going to explain it to them what _nothing _really was.

**Chapter 7**

**Mount Justice 2:30 pm **

Barbara walks to the zeba tube on the way out back home to Gotham; she had university tomorrow so wanted to get a few things done before then. Also she had a date tonight, this never happens, she wasn't even sure if it was a date or if she even fancied the guy that much but again, it didn't happen much. Guys at Gotham high school rarely asked her out; of course she has had a boyfriend and gone on a few dates. It was just that a guy had stood her up once in high school, it was a horrible experience; it wasn't something she wanted to repeat so she didn't put herself out there as much back then. She decided now was the time to put herself out there. She figured she had to start somewhere.

Nightwing spots her leaving "Leaving already guys" he says to both Barbara and Artemis, "I'm not but she is-"pointing at the other girl,

"she is off to get ready for a date with some guy from.. Fancy maths right?" she nudges the red head with her elbow. Dick raises eyebrow at Barbara, he couldn't help but be a little hurt, he knew what happened between them was nothing, he kept reminding himself. But he hasn't been able to stop thinking about her for a while now and now she was off on some date?! Barbara shrugs, she didn't really want to be having this discussion right now… it felt weird after everything that had happened.

"Yeah sure Artemis, 'fancy maths'" she shakes her head at the girl. Artemis doesn't care what kind of Maths it is, to her it was all the same, boring. And she didn't understand doing it when it wasn't compulsory anymore, but both of these guys did.

"Who?" he stares at Barbra, she feels uncomfortable mentioning it as Dick knows the guy and she doesn't think he thinks much of him, not that she really cared what he thought about the guy...

"Duncan Warren, we are just catching up, nothing big."

"You're kidding right?!" He looked surprised, he really didn't understand her choices in men, maybe she just didn't realise how much of a catch she was; again, not that he thought that she was, but he did feel that she deserved better than _Duncan Warren_.

"Who's kidding about what?" Wally asks as he and Connor walked into the room; they were also thinking about going out for a bit.

"Miss Gordon here is going on a date with some jerk form our Maths class" he shouldn't of said that, it really pissed her off. She felt the need to defend herself, to explain herself now and she shouldn't have to do that, she shouldn't have to explain herself to her friends.

"He is not a jerk! You don't even really know him! Plus since when do you care about who I go out with? You don't, so don't give me shit about it now." She is not really yelling yet, she knows he is only really making fun of her. But yet she felt her blood starting to boil.

"Of course I care Babs you are my best friend! I just don't want to see you get hurt! You don't know this guy too, you don't know what some guys are like!" He was a little hurt, did she really think he never noticed when she was seeing some guy? Did she really think he wouldn't want to know who they were?

"You have never showed any notice until now, so you don't get a say who is a jerk and who isn't suddenly now!" Yeah it wasn't teasing anymore and she was going to set the record straight.

"What do you mean? Didn't he get into that flight with Ross because of you-" Artemis spoke, her voice getting lower with each word she said as both Dick and Barbara go quiet. Dick tried to give her a look saying '_shut-the-hell-up-right-now!_'

Barbara's brain was ticking and a sudden realisation comes across her face, she goes red with anger. Dick is white, he had kept that story from Barbara for a reason, he knew she would crack it, he thought it would be best to just let it go…

"That was because of ME?! You told me-...this makes so much more sense! Do you realise what you did! The pain that caused me! The doubt I put myself through over that asshole!"

"Babs you don't understand, the things he was saying about you! The things he was telling everyone…I couldn't let him hurt you like that. To get away with that!" Artemis really wished she didn't say anything, she took a step back as their voices got louder; things weren't looking so friendly anymore.

"There is just so many things wrong with that! Do you even realise I was at that café for three hours waiting for him! Thinking that maybe I got the time wrong but then faced the fact that I was stood up and humiliated! Do you know what that feels like? To question yourself over and over again! Was it something I did, said, was I not pretty enough!"

"Barbara... I didn't know… I was just trying to look out for you" he was so confused, how did this escalated this far? Why would she ever think those things?

"I can look after myself, or don't you still NOT GET THAT?! I am the fucking BATGIRL! I fight bad guys every fucking night! I am sure I could figure out five minutes into the date that he wasn't my soul mate. I deserve that much! That is what dating is for!" She takes a breath, she can see that she hurt him but she didn't have the energy to worry about his feelings right now, she was so confused about her own. She lowered her voice.

"You know, we have been best friends for years. I trust no one more than you. You could have told me what happened, let me make my OWN mind up about him, I would have listen." She turns away and walks through the zeba tube.

Dick moves forward, he needs to chase her, to make things better… what was he thinking… how did this happen?! He finds a hand around his arm stopping him, he looks up and finds Connor shaking his head, most of the team is now hanging around, they probably heard most of that.

"Don't Nightwing. She just needs space now, she will come around my friend" Kaldur says, with a reassuring smile. He hopes Kaldur is right.

**Gotham City: 9:30 pm **

**Barbara's POV**

I walk down 16th Street rubbing my left fist, thinking I better unclench my teeth before they snap in half. My black high heels click away as I stomp past a bunch of immature teenage boys sitting outside of a dodgy looking bar, calling out drunken unwanted opinions my way; it is just another great example of Gotham's respect for drinking laws and for women. I briefly think about teaching them a listen but don't want them to think they have that kind of effect on me, their words will not affect me; will not determine what I do next. Plus this black dress is new and I am doing my very best _not_ to get any blood on it tonight.

I move my thumb to my lip wiping a drop of blood away from it, that bitch bit my lip, tore a latter in my black stockings, NEW stockings I might add with a cute pattern on them too. And most of all had the nerve to think _I_ would be that easy to get into bed, not even a bed, a FUCKING CAR IN SOME FUCKING DIRTY CARPARK! He learnt the hard way that, _that_ is not how you treat a lady. By the hard way I mean a broken nose, hence the score fist. It was an awkward angle, a sloppy punch but did the trick.

Now because of that fuck-wit Duncan Asshole-shit-face I am left walking the colourful side of town in my new high heels and poor excuse for a jacket. I stop on the corner considering my options. I could get a taxi back home and face the fact that today has just been one of those extremely shitty days or I could try and redeem it somehow…mmm well a zeba tube is only a few blocks up near Artemis's apartment or…I get out my mobile, I have decided to turn this night around.

"Hey you home?"

"Hey, um yeah, why?"

"Cool, I will be there in 10 minutes, I will explain later."

"Okay?-Bu-". I hang up before she could say anything else, I know rude but frankly I just couldn't care less right now.

**Chapter 8**

**Artemis apartment, Gotham City: 9:35 pm**

It was a small place Artemis owned, but it was hers and she was quite content with it. It had one bedroom, one bathroom with a tub I might add, a reasonable size longue room with an adjoining kitchen. She walks from the kitchen to the two boys sitting in her lounge; Wally was sitting on her green puff and Dick across from him hogging all the room on her purple sofa. It was Dick's night off, he wanted to work on the case but Batman said that they had to make sure we had a night off at least once a week; he had to have part of a normal life every now and then. He hasn't stopped thinking about the fight with Barbara, he had tried calling her a few times, texting but she ignored all of his attempts. Artemis and Wally thought it might be a good idea to hang out, get his mind off things. But it seems that fate has other plans for them.

She waits until they finish their conversation rubbing the back of her neck, she was thinking about just not mentioning who was on the phone and just let them figure it out when the female red head walks through the door. She leans against the arch way between the lounge and front door. Her front door was between the kitchen and lounge, there was no point in sitting down just yet, as she will have to answer the door any minute now.

Wally looks up from his conversation with Dick, realising Artemis is off the phone and hasn't said anything in a while. "That was quick, who was on the phone?" "_Damn" _Artemis thought, looks like she will have to tell them.

"It was Barbara… she said she was on her way up…" Dick looked up at her getting to a sitting position.

"Really? Does she know-"

"That you two losers are here?" she looks at him with a half-smile. He nods.

"Nope, she didn't ask."

"This should be interesting then" Wally says, unsure if he is happy that these two will be forced to sort out their shit or bolt before another fight breaks out.

*Buzz buzz*

*It's me Barbara* Artemis presses a button letting red head into the building.

"This is going to be bad. She isn't going to be happy to see me" Dick says, looking kind of blue.

"It will be fine, plus it is my apartment, she should have asked if I had anyone over."

*Knock, knock* Artemis gives the boys a look trying to reassure them and herself as she opens the door that it will all be fine.

Barbara jumped on the girl as soon as the door open almost knocking her over with a hug, the girl reciprocates hugging the girl back.

"Hey-wow, okay, are you alright?"

"Argh to be honest, I have had better days. Sorry for showing up out of the blue and attacking you." She hugs the girl just a little longer, she didn't realise how bad she actually needed this.

The boys watch holding their breaths for the unpredictable-clearly-troubled girl in front of them to notice them.

"That is fine, you know you are always welcomed here" Artemis said, also holding her breath for Barbara's reaction. Barbara pulls away opening her eyes and looking around.

"Well get your fine-self dressed because we are going out!" She stopped and stared at the boys, she wasn't expecting them to be here, she wouldn't have come if she knew. She shuts her mouth, trying to resist the urge to clench her teeth but ultimately loses to her body.

"Oh yeah, the guys are over… that isn't a problem is it?" Artemis says half closing one eye and biting her lip hoping if she acts casual about it, it will be just sunshine and rainbows.

"Barbara…" Dick gets up, stopping suddenly taking in all of her. She is all dressed up, an all-black dress with a low V-cut neckline, a three-quarter small black silver-grey jacket, stockings and her hair put up in a low bun. But that isn't what he noticed; he noticed the small cut on her lip, with a drop of blood smeared under her lip, her buried knuckles and a small rip in her stockings. Everyone noticed at that point, all trying to work out what happened.

"What happened? Are you alright?" he said, forgetting everything he was about to say and moving towards her. She holds up her left hand and giving him a look indicating to _stop-where-you-are-if-you-know-what's-good-for-you_. He does and shuts his mouth. She curses to herself, wondering what she has gotten herself into; she didn't want to admit to Dick that he was right about shit-face. She signs, breaking eye contact with him and walking to the kitchen, she was determined to find something to drink, something really-strong.

"It is nothing, just a minor altercation. Nothing I couldn't handle."

Artemis speaks up, saying what they were all thinking.

"Was it Duncan, what did he do?"

The red head-girl spots the vodka up high in the cupboard, she kneels on the kitchen bench facing the wall, her back facing her friends while she reaches for the drink, she was contemplating lying but then realised she couldn't be bothered thinking about a valid explanation, she sighs.

"Listen it was really nothing. We just had different opinions on how the night was going to go. Frankly I did society a favour and taught him a valuable lesson." Dick couldn't help but laugh at that, only she would articulate something like _this_ like it was nothing, but it didn't lessen the pain and worry he felt looking at her. She doesn't turn around, she wasn't expecting that, she didn't know why because it is very Dick to laugh at inappropriate times; she can't help but grin a little. Only a little though as she still felt like crap and if she was honest with herself, she was a little shaken up. She gets off the bench and takes a swig at the bottle, causing herself to cough, that shit was awful by itself.

Artemis and Wally looked awkward she thought, normally they might laugh too but they were waiting to see Barbara's reaction first. Everyone went silent again, all a bit unsure how to approach this situation.

"Guys really relax. And stop looking at me like that, I am allowed a drink every now and again. Artemis why are you not dressed yet?"

"You're serious?" she doesn't look impressed.

"Deadly" she says taking another sip, Artemis rolls her eyes but decides to do as the girl says. Wally gets up and in a flash is in the kitchen, he decides it is safe to approach and quickly pulls the bottle out of Barbara's hand, before she could protest Wally pulls her into a hug picking her off the ground. "Well I think I speak for all of us when I say we are just happy that you are okay" he puts her down as quickly as he picked her up almost causing her to lose balance. The others agree and Artemis goes to get changed.

Barbara takes off her shoes and rolls her eyes at Dick. "Just say it already. You were right, I was wrong, he was an asshole. But he was still my asshole to deal with- well you know what I mean." Wally takes the vodka back and decides to have a slip or four, he was clearly uncomfortable, yet also wanted to see how this all played out.

"I wasn't going to say that. You were right, I didn't, and I haven't handled anything of this right… I am sorry Babs. I hate it when you are mad at me. Can we just move on please? Babs what are you doing?!" She was tactically taking off her stocking; she needed to get rid of them.

"What does it look like? Surely you have seen girls take stockings off before" she smirks, not that she was really feeling light-hearted, she just wasn't in the mood for a deep-and-meaningful. He had to look away, he was a boy, he couldn't help but find those sorts of things appealing… and he didn't feel he deserved to even think about her in that way anymore. Wally whistles and she shakes her head. The mood was lighting up and they were all grateful for it.

"Babs-"

"Dick honestly, I am over it, I just don't want to talk about it anymore. I won't lie, I am still not happy about it, but I know you meant well." He looks back at her.

"Thank the heavens! I was going insane!" He smiles, and pulls her into a hug before she has time to think.

"Okay boy wonder, settle down" she gives him a half-smile.

"Does this mean we can tag along? You did promise the next time you go out it would be together" he gives his biggest smile. She starts to take out her hair, it was starting to bug her, he couldn't help but watch as her hair falls messy around her shoulders; she was stunning.

"Fine."

She runs to the bathroom before they leave. Looking in the mirror she cleans up the blood on her lip, she thinks about how she must of looked when she walked in. No wonder they looked so worried and afraid to say anything. She will admit… she did have a bit of a temper sometimes…. She could understand why they were being cautious. She thinks about the night she has just had and closes her eyes, willing herself not to cry.

**The Dirty Monkey Night Club: 10:45 pm**

The four teens look a bit out of place in a place in like, of course they had all been out before but usually always with people associated with their _social life, _never together. The lights were constantly changing colours, blue, green, red, yellow, yet they still couldn't see more than a few meters in fount of them. They were all still wound up from everything that has been going on lately, all trying to push out thoughts and guilt they had over the missing girls. Dick is still feeling anxiety over the thing that has happened between him and Barbara and is determined to make it better. They all decide to do a shot, they went for something called "the dark knight", some reason they doubted Batman would find the humour with a shot named after him but they all agreed it was something they had to try; it tasted like a mix between vodka and lickerish, needless to say they only had one.

Wally looked nervous, quieter than usual. Artemis assumed it had to do with the tension that still hung in the air. He turned towards the group, locking eyes with the blond girl but addressing the whole group "Okay time to dance! We came here, that is what you do; you dance!" he held out his hand for the blond girl to take, she looked at him and the hand, debating what his intentions are and if she wanted any part of it, she decided she would take it.

"You guys go ahead, I am going to wait here for a minute" Barbara said, she didn't know why she suddenly wasn't in the mood, she was the one who dragged them out after all, maybe she just wasn't feeling the music yet.

"I am going to wait too, I think I need a little bit more to drink before I embarrass myself" Dick smiled at the two, he also had the feeling that Wally might appreciate that, something between them two seem to be changing, even if they didn't know it yet. Wally didn't mind, his mind was focused on something else… Artemis looked a bit uncomfortable and hesitant but before she could change her mind the red headed young man dragged her through the crowd until they were out of sight. He pulled her close and grinned, he was feeling a bit confident now; she had willing taken his hand, not fussing that she would only be dancing with him for the meantime, maybe it was that, plus the combination of a few drinks but he didn't care, it was prefect. Artemis blushed when he pulled her close, it was unexpected but she wasn't about to pull away, she smiled, letting her thoughts float far away, forgetting her barriers, forgetting her worries and just enjoying the moment.

Back at the bar Barbara turned to face the bartender trying to get his attention, she felt it was about time for another drink, she knew it was a bad idea, but she just doesn't care tonight. "So, Barbara…I-" he was cut off by a person tapping on his shoulder, Babs didn't notice, she was half leaning on the bar now, still hasn't be able to order those drinks.

"Hey Dick! Look at us running into each other again! And it is lucky too because I can't seem to find Sky." A girl in a tight orange dress said.

"Oh hey.. um yeah" he isn't 100 percent clear on her name… he was pretty sure it started with a 'C', maybe '_Claire?' _Barbara turned around then, she was about to say something abusive about the service but stopped when she saw the girl, of course another random blond out of nowhere she thought.

"Hey, Amy right? Barbara from the other night, it is nice seeing you again. Dick hasn't stopped talking about you" she smiled, he had that look that suggests he was struggling and wasn't sure what to do about the situation, she thought she would give him a helping hand.

'_Amy right! Who's Claire then?'_ then realising what Barbara was doing he gave her a look saying '_what-are-you-doing- help-me!_' She just smiled at that, she was pleased with herself. Deserves him right, not that it is a hassle to be stuck with a beautiful girl, she thought. She understood why he wasn't too keen though; she spoke to the girl the other week and she was a bit dull and vain. But this would be a good reason to not talk things out with him.

"Oh, really?" the girl smiled.

"Um, sure but-"

"Dick, get the girl a drink! She clearly looks thirsty! Sorry Amy, he is a bit slow sometimes, but don't worry, that is what I am here for, to make sure he treats you right" She says grinning with herself as Dick looks betrayed; she just looks up at him and smiles some more.

"Of course, um but I don't want to ditch my friend Barbara here so-" before he could finish another girl, brunette this time interrupted.

"I am sorry to interrupted, but don't I know you?"

'_Not again...why does this keep happening?'_ but before Dick could respond Barbara looked up at the girl and responded "oh sorry, yes, I tipped into you the other night didn't I? Us girls have to stick together, right? Sorry I don't think I got your name last time."

"That is fine, I don't think I got yours either! I'm Iris Hayden" she puts out her hand.

"It is nice to official meet. I am Barbara Gordon, this is my friend Richard Grayson. For a minute there I thought you were actually talking to him! And this is Amy his _special_ friend" she winks and laughs. Dick goes red in the face; this wasn't how he wanted tonight to go. Iris shakes their hands and then rubs the back of her head. The girl bits her lower lip looking nervous.

"Well this is a bit awkward actually. See remember the other night how we were saying we should party next time- of course I assumed there wouldn't be one but my friend just messaged me and now she isn't turning up. Then I saw you and thought I could buy you a drink and maybe you could take pity on me and let me hang with you guys for the night. Of course if that is totally weird I can just-" Barbara interrupts before she finishes laughing a bit, it was nice how girls could be so friendly.

"Of course! You actually have prefect timing because I was afraid I might be cramming my dear friend's groove! Let's all get a drink! What do you two drink anyways?" Barbara asks, deciding to include Amy in the drink too, after all girls do need to stick together. Dick hasn't added anything to the conversation; he is still trying to work out what is happening. He just watched how his pretty-much life-long friend who he was trying to talk to was now suddenly making friends with some random chick he meet the other night and some other random chick who wanted to come chill, _WHAT WAS HAPPENING?_

They found some corner to sit and talk, which just meant Dick sat there still clueless as Barbara talked to some brunette named Iris and some Amy girl tried to get his attention. He had no idea what this girl was saying, he was just nodding and smiling, casually adding some "oh really?" and "cool", he was too busy trying to sort out his thoughts. Was it weird he was a little jealous of that random girl? She seem to be making Barbara laugh and smile; it is good to see her seem less troubled than before, he just kind of hoped he would be the one making her feel that way. Iris gets up and drags Barbara off the round blue couch they were all sitting on, they both stumble a bit, clearly the drinks were starting to settle in, he starts to get up to follow.

"Hey where are you guys going?" Amy looked a little pissed; she wasn't appreciating the lack of attention.

"We are dancing!" Iris puts her hands in the air and yelling over the music, they both laugh.

"Apparently we are going to 'shake our sexy butts like it is the end of the world', you guys can stay here though" she winks and gets dragged off into the pit of sweaty-youth.

Half an hour later and Dick is bored out of his brains. He has been ditched with some self-obsessed girl talking about her disgust for cheap brands. And to make it extra fun her friend just showed up so now he is listening to two of them talk about some crap to do with clothes and it being important. He looked up as two bright smiling friends of his come towards the table, he was saved! Wally had his arm around Artemis's waist while she had her hand on top of his. Dick smiled, and she blushed; something clearly happened between them two but he decided to not comment on it. It was new and he didn't want to risk ruining anything for them; he loved them both and was happy they had finally found each other. At least something good would come out of tonight he thought.

"Hey there you are! Have you seen _Barbara_? Wait, are those…?" Wally suddenly panicked giving Dick a look saying _'what-the-fuck-man-tell-me-I-am-wrong'_

"Here I am indeed. Not recently, she is off with some girl named Iris dancing, and yes…" he mouthed –HELP ME- to them, Artemis rolled her eyes and walked over to the girls.

"What the hell do you girls think you are doing?! This is my boyfriend! Why don't you skanks get the hell out of here!" Everyone shat themselves; she could be terrifying if she wanted to be. The girls left after very abusive words thrown Dick and Wally's way. Once they left Artemis cracked up laughing and sat next to Wally on the couch.

"Wow that was a direct solution, I was hoping for something more subtle but thanks, you are a lot more help! Babs did the complete opposite before and landed me in this situation" Wally and Artemis give each other a look, then Wally looks at Dick.

"Um have you seen her lately?"

"Why is something wrong?" they laugh.

"Um I wouldn't say wrong…" Artemis grins, but before she could explain or Dick could ask, Barbara stumbles through the crowd with Iris following close behind holding her hand.

She is giggling and very much drunk but clearly having a good time. "Guys! Where have you been all night?! This is Iris, Iris this is Wally and Artemis and you know Dick already!" She yelled across the music. They reply and great the girl still holding their friend's hand.

"Okay well I just came to say that Iris and I are going to go get some foooood. We thought we would keep the night going but got sick of the music! So I will see you guys later!" The other girl giggles and speaks up.

"We would say come back… but…you know…" she winked.

"Dude! Don't say that! Shhhhh" Babs laughed again.

"Um, Barbara what is going on?" Dick was confused, he knew Barbara but he couldn't recognize this girl in front of him, he knew for a _fact_ that she liked men, but this girl, he just didn't get it, not because he didn't understand homosexuality, he just didn't get what was happening.

"Relax Dick! I am just having some fun" she laughs at his expression.

"But you're not…? Are you?"

"Hey this is news to me too. And Iris knows that."

"I respect that and respect her limits, don't worry I will look after her, I know she probably won't fully convert. But hey, got to try everything once right?" she winks, this conversation just got too much for Dick.

"Oh-my-god guys just forget you heard any of that! We are going to go off and get some food…" she laughs, it was all too funny and great at the same time; it had been a while since she let herself go completely, even when she let herself go with Dick.. She didn't fully allow herself to feel, to experience. But tonight she was determined to not think, to just do! Iris made her feel safe to express herself, even if she had only known the girl for a few hours, if that! She would normally never actually seriously consider going home with a stranger but she felt the risks were small because it was another girl after all, she seems harmless! Dick on the other hand did not like the idea at all.

"Barbara, I don't think this is a good idea…" he gets up moving towards her, his gut feeling said something was off, tonight just hasn't felt right at all.

"Oh no, he used my whole name and not 'Babs', you know he is serious when he does that!" She jokes ignoring his concerns.

"That is because I am! You can't just go home with a random! You don't know anything about her!" Dick said starting to raise his voice but then he suddenly remembered another conversation like this, where he would tell her it isn't a good idea and they ended up in a huge fight. He said he would respect her decisions, was this one of those times? Even if she was drunk?

"I am not a random! Not anymore anyways" Iris says turning Barbara's head with her free hand, bring her close and giving her a passionate kiss; it caught the red head off guard but she didn't mind, she kissed backed and then pulled away, getting shy that she was being kissed in front of her friends. Artemis and Wally smiled, looking very amused at the situation, just happy that Babs had finally truly lift her crappy mood. They had a bit too much to drink and didn't really have an opinion about whether or not Dick was right about her not going home with this girl. She seemed like a nice girl to them.

Dick's heart sank when he saw that kiss, and the smile on Bab's face once she pulled away. Her red lips so full, soft, he still remembered how they felt when they were pressed on his own lips. The heat between them had felt unbelievable, unimaginable, he didn't realise he could care so much about seeing her with someone else, to even think about her feeling that way and doing those things with someone else. He couldn't care what sex they were, he didn't want her going home with this random girl.

But he had to face the facts, she didn't feel the same way, she wanted this and he couldn't decide if he was trying to stop her because he felt she wouldn't be safe or it was just the jealous monster, tempting him to ruin their friendship further by fighting with her.

He let out a sigh and he grabs Bab's hand "Are you sure you want this?" She looks up at him with a soft-light hearted smile replies,

"Stop being so dramatic, I will be fine!" He takes another look at Iris, then back at Barbara.

"Fine, just call me when you get home, and if you need me to come get you just call me." She smiles, grabs his face with both hands, pulls his face close and whispers in his ears.

"Okay boy wonder, I will talk to you tomorrow" she kisses him on the check and then gives him a playful punch in the arm. She waves goodbye to the others and grabs the brunette's hand once again, allowing herself to be dragged away. Dick watches his best friend once again slip into the crowd; once again feeling sick to his stomach. That gut feeling is back, he can't stop feeling things were going to get a whole lot worse.


	4. The Tank

_**Hey guys, just a reminder that this story has a rating of 'M'. I would have made it 'MA' but for some reason that option wasn't there, I will see about changing that. There is nothing really bad in this but I do suggest some horrible things as it reflects worries of the real world we live in. I thought maybe I should warn you in case you hadn't figured that out yet. But enjoy and let me know what you think:) **_

**Chapter 9**

**The present, Wayne Manor: Monday 10am**

**Dick's POV**

*knock, knock, knock*

I slowly open my eyes trying to work out what and where that noise is coming from. I roll over in my bed to look at the time "10:00", it isn't that late…I don't have class until 12 pm today anyways. "Master Dick, breakfast is getting cold. Please come down to the kitchen at once" Alfred called from behind my bedroom door. Damn he wasn't going to let me sleep in I just knew it.

"Coming Alfred!" I pull myself up into a sitting position; rub my eyes; god I feel like ass. I really should have stopped after the sixth shot and fourth rum and coke… what was I thinking? Images of last night came rushing back, unlike the morning before they weren't pleasant. I think I prefer remembering Babs being in _my_ bed and not leaving home with some random freak. Which reminds me… has she replied to any of my messages yet… I reach across to my iphone while getting myself out of bed. Mm still no reply, I would have thought I would have had least a "fuck-off Grayson" but nothing, maybe I should try her home phone, I will once I have a shower; god I smell bad and Alfred would not be impressed if I come down smelling like booze.

20 minutes later and wearing my dark blue jeans and a plain white top I make my way down to the kitchen. Something smells really good, again Alfred spoils us.

"Morning Alfred" I give the old man a warm smile.

"Good morning Richard, how are you feeling?" he looks at me with a knowing smile; he knows I was out drinking last night.

"Just fine, but I am staved, mind if I pinch some of that food that is smelling out the house" I give a big pleading smile. Okay, I am not fine, I still feel like crap, my head is hurting and Babs didn't pick up her phone at her apartment. She could be at her Dad's place but I doubt it.

"A plate is prepared in the oven. Where did you go last night?" He sits at the kitchen table with a pot of tea and two cups ready for us.

"I have said it before and I will say it again, you spoil us Alfred. And just a nightclub with Barbara, Wally and Artemis" I join him at the table and he pours a cup of tea for me while I dig into my bacon and eggs.

"I figured as much as you stumbled in at 2 am last night signing Nirvana" he smiles at me with an amused expression, it wasn't often he saw me drunk.

"Hey I am a great signer" we laugh, I'm pretty much tone deaf.

"Why didn't Barbara come back here?"

"What?...Why do you think she would" I say almost chocking on my food, going a bit red in the face, Alfred gave a weird look as he watched me chock.

"Well she normally does when you two go out, I just thought she might" of course, she usually always does whenever we go out to a bar or party, what is wrong with my brain today? Note to self: alcohol does not help mental function; it just makes me look like an idiot.

"Oh yeah, sorry, no she decided… to go back home. I was actually thinking I might pop over before class" I avoided eye contact with him, I wasn't about to explain last night, but I had a feeling he knew there was more to the story. He always knew. He was like Bruce but worse; after all Bruce had to learn off someone right?

**Barbara's apartment: 11:15 pm**

**Dick's POV**

*knock knock knock*

I wait for a few minutes, while checking my watch; I can't be too long otherwise I am going to be late for class; it is a good thing Barbara lives so close to university.

"Babs it's me, I am coming in, be warned" I have my own key because she lets me study here in between classes when I have a few hours break, it is better than trying to compete for a quite space in the library or if I have had a late night I can take a little nap on the couch. It is always good to knock first though as one time she didn't know I was coming over and I got a surprise punch in the gut when I opened the door, I didn't make that mistake again. I will admit it was pretty damn funny though.

I walk in; her place is much like Artemis's, small but comfortable. It had a small adjoining kitchen to the lounge, but the bedroom wasn't next to the kitchen like Artemis's, it was on the other side next to the lounge. The furniture were simple and black, the walls painted plain white, but they were covered in artwork and posters; giving the place a lively happy vibe. Her bedroom door was open and so was the bathroom door; she wasn't home and by the looks of things she never made it home. The place was cold and bed was made. I knew she didn't have class until 1 pm today and she normally studies until then as she has work right after class, then patrol with Batman.

That gut feeling I have had all night is still there, nagging me and it isn't getting any quieter. A small voice tells me I should have listen to it last night, today might be too late. But I ignore it, I have to.

I pull out my phone and call her mobile again, but no luck. I then try her Dad's place, it rings for a bit but then goes to voice mail, I leave a message just in case she is there; I know Commissioner James Gordon would be at work by now. I sit on her black couch; it faces the wall opposite the front door. There is a massive window facing the city, it is why she got the place, it was a bit old and the heating is horrible but she always said it is worth it for the views. Why aren't you picking up Barbara?

I call Wally, maybe him or Artemis knows where she is; I am is pretty sure he went home with her and would possible still be at her house.

"Hey man, what's up? How you feeling after last night, you were pretty gone" Wally laughs, I ignore him and get to the point.

"Hey, fine, have you heard from Barbara?"

"Um no, why? Didn't she gone home with that-" I interrupt getting impatient.

"I haven't heard from her, she isn't picking up so I went to her place, it doesn't look like she came home last night and she normally would be studying before class right now. I tried calling her Dad's place but no one is home. I haven't called her Dad yet because I don't want to worry him. But Wally I have a bad feeling. Can you ask Artemis if she has heard from her and if not, if she could message some of her friends? And if you could check when you get back to Mount Justice if she is there that would be awesome, I have class so I can't do it myself."

"Um, how do you know I am with Artemis?" I don't have time to answer these questions.

"Because I figured you guys went home together last night. Dude it is fine, I think it is great! I always thought you two should hock up. Sorry should have said that first but to be honest my mind is a little preoccupied so can you please do those things?" I speed up with each word, just wanting to know where she is already.

"Oh thanks, but I am not sure what it means so let's just keep it on the down low. And of course we will but seriously don't worry, it is Barbara, you know what she is like sometimes. She is probably just hung over and doesn't hear her phone. Just go to class and let me find where she is. I am just going to watch my lectures online so I can go looking for her first" I feel a bit more relieved, Wally always followed through with his promises, he wouldn't let anyone down.

"Thanks man, I know it is probably nothing but I would rather be a paranoid idiot then a sorry one…. After what happened to Jason… I… just have to know" my voice chocks as I say his name, it was so hard to say, sometimes it felt like it was all a dream, either he was never real or he would just pop out of the shadows any minute telling me what a dorky loser I was. I wish he would.

"Oh man, don't think about that. Don't worry, Artemis is texting her close friends now and I am going to pop over to the cave right now. Just go to class, I will message you when we hear something."

"Thanks Wally, it means a lot. Also again, I am happy about you and Artemis and don't worry I will keep it on the down low."

**Barbara's apartment: 5 pm **

**Dick's POV**

Wally and Artemis found no sign from Barbara. I decided to check her classes, she wasn't there, so now I am back at her place. I called her father and he had not heard from her. I didn't tell him how worried I was but he said he would get her to call me when she comes over for dinner tonight. He was sure she would be there; that would be at 6 pm. I wasn't sure if I could wait another hour. I sat on her couch again holding a framed photo of me and her she keeps with a whole bunch of photos of family and friends. She keeps them on a long thin hallway table against the wall next to her room so she can see it as soon as she walks in; it reminded her of what she was fighting for when she was out on the streets. It was just another thing that added character to this little place. I couldn't wait around, that feeling was just getting worse with every second that past. I took out my mobile; it was time to get help.

After a ring he picked up "What's wrong?" he knows something is wrong, I never call him unless it is important, normally I would just send a text message.

"Bruce, it's Barbara, I'm worried."

**The Bat-Cave: 5:30 pm**

**Tim's POV**

Dick told us what happened; the fight he had with her, the altercation Barbara had with Duncan Warren, how he was sure she had forgiven him but was still mad, how they went out to The Dirty Monkey Nightclub, and how she left with a girl named Iris Hayden. He had told her not to but he didn't push it because of the fight they had had. It hasn't been 48 hours yet so we can't report it yet and soon we would know if she turns up at her father's place for dinner. It was unlike Barbara to not reply to any of us when it mattered. Of course she ignored Dick a lot when she was mad but if he was truly worried she would give him some sign that she was okay because she knows what it is like to worry about someone. She gave me a talk about making sure one of us always knew where I was. She said it was important that we all kept tabs on each other; we had to look out for each other. I hadn't really ever worried about her before now, I just always assumed Dick and her would keep tabs on each other so as long as I knew where one was, I knew the other couldn't be far.

"And you just let her go home with her drunk?!" Bruce yelled, he was clearly pissed off, he didn't understand Barbara if he thinks Dick could _let_ Barbara do anything; she has been known to defy the damn Batman, there weren't a lot of people with the balls to do that and she sometimes did it on a weekly basis.

"I didn't _let_ her do anything! How can I stop her? I am not her fucking boyfriend! And even if I was she wouldn't listen to me! I didn't know what to do! What was I meant to do?!" Dick yelled back, a while ago, before I knew about this life, before I knew what my adopted father and brother had been though I would say they were over reacting and needed to settle down. But after everything I have seen and heard, I understand… they were worried… they were worried it was all happening all over again. We all knew the risks of this job; we have all suffered because of it. But this was different, it wasn't Batgirl who was missing, it was Barbara Gordon, the 22 year old women.

"You all shouldn't have been out! What were you thinking? With everything that is going on with the case going out getting drunk with a bunch of girls who fit the age bracket in the area they go missing! For god shake they are aiming at girls with out-of-the-normal sexual attraction, whether she is experimenting or not!" The room went silent, to be honest it didn't really sink in my mind either; I still can't believe she is truly missing, she might just turn up any minute now with a flat phone and has just been stuck out somewhere with no money… Dick didn't think of the implications either, you could see in the way his face went white.

"But it hasn't been a week, they only took another girl two days ago, why would they change now? And it was a girl she went home with…" he whispered, trying to processes everything Bruce had just said.

"I don't know. A girl just turned up dead. Maybe they didn't want to wait a week. Maybe they took both girls, maybe this Iris is a part of this somehow" Way to spell it out Bruce. God Barbara please be in the middle of nowhere with a broken phone and no money walking back to your apartment right now, please.

I got up, grabbed my suit, I wasn't about to wait around for her to pop up on her own, she was right; we needed to look out for each other and that is what I was planning on doing. I was going to look for her.

**Chapter 10**

**Location unknown: unknown time**

**Barbara's POV**

It had been hours since I had woken up and I was staving, thirsty and pissed off beyond belief. I got plastered last night and let my evil-horny-twin out who thought it was a great idea to be led away from her friends and go home with some stranger. I hate that last night I let myself go; that I allowed myself to just be with someone and that I really enjoyed it. I had felt wanted, truly wanted. But that was a lie. I was never wanted for that way… I was wanted for, well I wasn't quite sure yet.

I don't remember everything from last night, just laughing, holding hands, and then Iris went quiet; her hand becoming tighter. I didn't think too much until I saw the city park and then something clicked and I realised how easy it was to be taken away from a club or bar by a girl. I understood how all those girls who were attracted to girls would go home with another girl, how an asexual girl could be convinced to have a pizza with another girl as a friend; she wouldn't be afraid of another female. I am meant to be the damn Batgirl and I fell for it. I stopped and pulled out my hand but I stumbled because I was drunk. I was slow, sloppy. Next thing I knew I was waking up in a jail with a major hangover.

I looked around trying to find a weakness in the structure, any weapons, anything I could use to pick the locks. Three of the walls were solid stone, the other had rusty but strong bars. I found a small sewing needle, it wasn't much but it was something. I doubt I could open the lock with it, but they would have to open it sooner or later and that was their mistake to make. This game takes patience to win, I knew that game well.

There were other women trapped in cells like mine, I knew it and have been trying for hours to talk to them yet none of them replied. Some just cried out every now and then, I figured they were having a nightmare. No one responded to it, so I have a feeling it was a normal occurrence in this place.

An ear-piecing scream snaps me out of my thoughts, what the hell was going on out there?! I jumped up running to the bars grabbing them and pulling myself as close as possible, I had to know what was going on, I had to try, just try and help that girl out there being tortured.

"HEY! HEY! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING TO HER!? ANSWER ME DAMMIT!" My screams could not compete, no one answered.

**Gotham's Police Station: Tuesday 9 am**

**Artemis's POV**

It still hadn't been 48 hours, but it felt like a life time. It would be 48 hours at 00:00 but being the commissioner's daughter the report was officially being put in now. The police had been looking since last night though, they had found her handbag near the city park; were the other girls had been taken. It still had her phone, id and money in it; none of it had been touched. That wasn't what whoever had taken her wanted. They also found Iris's handbag, no phone, just a fake id and money. I, Wally and Dick had been at the station giving our accounts of last night. It was surreal, I keep thinking it would be like a mission; there has been one of two close calls, it came with the job. But most of the time she got herself out of it, however most of the time she was sober and was prepared, she was always prepared, she was Batgirl. But last night she was just a girl in a black dress and heels, drinking heavily.

I am her friend, she wanted to go out with _me_, asked _ME_, came to _me _when she was upset, thought of _ME._ But what did I do? I abandoned her for a boy. If only I had paid more attention. Every training session we were told never to underestimate your opponent. Just because she is a girl, just because she seems harmless doesn't mean she isn't the fucking devil herself. How could I have been so naive, so stupid?!

Wally grabs my hand giving it a squeeze and he hands me a tissue. I am suddenly aware I have been crying. I don't make any sound instead I just sit there, feeling helpless.

Bruce was with us, he was here to support Dick and his friend James Gordon.

Robin was out patrolling and searching, he had Impulse with him. The rest of the team wanted to help but there was an urgent mission and in our business, sometimes the mission had to come first. Plus I am not sure they could help much anyways. It also wouldn't look good having too many superheros suddenly looking, it wouldn't be easy to cover, it could expose Batgirl's identity, it could also mean a whole lot of political issues I am sure.

Robin was the one who came and told the team that she was officially missing. It was way too formal. He stated it like it was just a normal every day fact. I am not sure why that would surprise me; all the bat-kids had that same problem sometimes. I get it, they don't see the point in being emotional, it isn't good for an operation but for fuck's sake it wasn't a mission! It is Batgirl we are talking about! His partner! The team didn't take it well, they were confused, anger, they didn't believe that Barbara, BARBARA the girl that had always been prepared, had always had a plan, had always handled herself was taken but possible one girl. But who knows, maybe there was a gang of them, no, don't think like that.

It hit home for all of them. We had been there before, we had all lost teammates but if we had anything to say about it we weren't about to lose another one. Zatanna Zatara and Raquel Ervin, AKA Rocket former members of Young Justice now members of the Justice League have offered to help, we said we would let them know if there was anything we needed. Kaldur too was on his way back to the team. Countless of Justice League members have told Batman that if he needs help to just ask, but to be truthful it wasn't about how many superheros we had looking, it was just about leads, skills and luck. Plus the sad truth is that the world needs the Justice League more. There time was too valuable to spend looking a few girls. That is okay though, that is just the world. We would look after our own, we would get Batgirl back.

We have all finished giving our statements for the night before, we were just waiting on Bruce to say we could leave and finally do something productive, like _actually _looking for her! Grrr I am sick of this I need to hit something! I need to just do something! Fuck!

I look over towards the boys; Bruce is talking to some cop. Wally is sitting to the right of me holding my hand, staring at the ground; he is too still for my liking. I don't think I have ever seen him stay in one spot for this long before. Dick is bent over in his chair next to Wally. He had his head in his hands leaning on his knees. I have barely heard him say a word. I don't think he is coping well, Barbara and him had known each other for years. Wally said that she was one of Dick's first real friends he had since his parents. He said that Dick once said that when he met her it was one of the first times he truly forgot the pain, almost forgot that he was an orphan from Romania. Because of her he was able to let out his fun-side, was able to see the positive side of life again. I imagine things would have seemed pretty serious all the time living with Batman; Dick didn't always have to be serious with Barbara. My heart tightens just a little bit more. I had never truly known him without her, I don't know who he would be, how could he handle losing another family member? His parents, Jason… countless friends on top of that. Life was cruel. I have decided that if there was a god out there, he or she was an asshole and can go fuck themselves.

Dick looked up, Bruce was back. He nodded indicating we were leaving. Finally, let's go kick some serious butt and get our friend back.

**Unknown Location: unknown time**

Barbara sits in the middle back of her cell, she refused to hide in a corner but at the same time she couldn't stand up all the time. This wasn't her first experience in a cage-cell environment but she normally had her suit on which meant hidden compartments of little goodies she could use to escape and a few trackers which let the big guy or the team know where she is. But no such luck today, tonight, whatever time it was. There were no windows just artificial lights in the hallways outside her cage. She looked for any sign of light but she has a feeling that she is under-ground. She couldn't see much. Facing her was an empty cell just like hers. She wasn't sure if maybe the girl who she had heard screaming earlier was originally being kept in there. If that is the case, she also figured it wasn't a good sign that it had been hours since she saw or heard that girl. That wasn't good news, for the girl or for Barbara. She was thinking about the cases, how it had looked… trying to think about the point of it all, if the missing girls were all here. She figured it was too much of a coincidence if there were two people kid napping a bunch of girls on their nights out and didn't much believe in coincidences. She had a few theories of course, a few plans of attack but she couldn't really work out what they wanted with her.

She knew they would be coming for her. She knew that it will probably be soon and if she doesn't do something sooner that could be her screams filling up these walls. She remembered that each girl's clothes were found a day or two after their abduction. She would prefer to keep her clothes but it could be a good way to get a message across to give the guys a clue. If she got her stupid ass in here then she may as well make something good come of it. But what… there was literally nothing in her cell besides a lot of dirt covering the brink floors, and a drink bottle they had given her a few hours ago. She had been reluctant to drink any of the water but after drinking so much last night if she was going to have any chance fighting off these goons then she needed to hydrate. There was less than a quarter left. She stared at it and then decided to poured a few drops out onto a pile of dirt, first making sure no one was coming anywhere near her cell. She made a mud paste, it wasn't that great but it was all she had. She lifted up the bottom of her dress and wrote as clear as possible on it; hoping that it was enough to lead her boys in the right direction but not too much that the brainless drones would notice the mud on the dress. Now to let it dry and hope that plan doesn't have to be executed.

She couldn't imagine what her family and friends were going through. Did they even know she was missing yet? A part of her wished at least her Dad didn't know yet, she couldn't handle him being in any pain. He had no one else but her, she doubt he would look after himself, she hoped someone would make sure he at least remembered to eat something.

**Gotham City: 3 am **

**Tim's POV**

The cold night air pieces through me as I stand on the corner of one of Gotham's tallest buildings. My cape blowing past me makes me feel as if I could float away into the wind with it. I have this urge to jump of flying, following the darkness down the streets of Gotham. Of course I would die, unless I use my grappling hock to catch myself at the last moment, which I have done many of times. Us suicidal caped vigilantes do it all the time. I member Batgirl and Nightwing running past me telling at me to "hurry up newbie" racing down the streets back to the zeta tube, not thinking twice before they jump off one building after another. I also remember the talks Batgirl and I had up high above the world when we had finished patrol. She always had good advice, always looking after me, being a friend, a partner, a sister. I never thought twice about it, she never doubted my abilities, always pushing me to achieve more. She is good like that. The memories just make me more anxious and determined to find her before… before anything can really happen. I will not let her down; family never stop looking for each other.

Impulse went back to Mount Justice already; there really wasn't much else he could do. Batman, Nightwing, Kid Flash and Artemis had joined since then. All of us interrogating suspects, old and new; nothing new had turned up though. There was no trace of any of the girls. Video footage of outside the nightclub had shown her leaving with Iris towards the park but nothing else. Batman went back to the cave 15 minutes ago; he was going to look at the video footage more closely, he also thought he would look at footage taken inside the club at night in case anyone was following the girls. Nightwing, Kid Flash and Artemis left too. Nightwing went back to Mount Justice to go over the video footage of the necklace and Barbara's notes from the other night. I thought I might keep an eye out for a little bit longer.

*Batman to Robin, what's your status?*

*No progress. I am thinking I will go back to Mount Justice, see if Nightwing needs a fresh set of eyes. And to make sure he doesn't over-do it.*

*Good, make sure you both get at least 5 hours sleep. I can't have you two sloppy tomorrow. And Robin*

*Yeah?*

*Don't worry, we will find her*

*I know we will. I am just worried in what state we do*

*She is Batgirl, she can handle herself. Do me a favour and remind Nightwing that, if she knew we weren't looking after ourselves we won't hear the end of it when she gets back* I smile a little at that, it isn't often Bruce says things like that.

I look out into the squalid streets one last time. Barbara where are you?

**Mount Justice: 3:30 am **

*Recognised: Robin-B-Zero-nineteen*

The place is dark and quiet, everyone is asleep now. Robin makes his way to the kitchen to get two cups of coffee, he knows Dick could use another cup and he was sure he was the only one up.

Dick is still in his Nightwing gear, there was no time to change and he felt better to be ready to go in case he finds something. Deep down he knew he wouldn't but you still had to try and keep trying until you get lucky. The last time he was this stressed, this over-worked his efforts were pointless. Fate had another plan that night, he had failed, had failed to save his brother. But he refused to let fate get the best of him again, after all he didn't really believe in fate.

Robin walked into the office where Nightwing was; anyone else wouldn't have noticed him but Nightwing was trained to notice. He doesn't bother looking up though, he knows who it is. A hot cup of black coffee was place in front of him, while the young boy takes a seat next to him. "Thanks."

"Thought you could use it. Let's see your notes so far" he passes Robin the notes he has made so far and ones Barbara had made. He starts to look through them, trying to spot anything useful.

"Batman says to make sure we get at least 5 hours sleep" Nightwing fast forwards a bit of the video feed, he had seen a lot of it and it was becoming way too painful watching these sleaze bags look down Barbara's top; he is beginning to think the video necklace was a bad idea.

"Yeah I am sure he is doing the same" Nightwing says, ignoring Batman concern.

"Mm he said to remind you that when Batgirl gets back she will kick all of our butts for not looking after ourselves. Her and Alfred would say that sleep is important for cognition and if we insist on doing the jobs we do then we should take sleep serious" Dick looks at him with a not very impressed look but taking in everything the young man was saying.

"I know you are right, I just don't know if I can anytime soon." Tim also felt the same, but was determined to keep his word. He promised Batgirl that we would look out for each other and that included making sure Dick looked after himself. He could just imagine her telling them both off right now, which is really hypercritical because she would be doing the same thing as them if they needed her. He smiled at the thought of that.

He looked up as Nightwing played the video again. Barbara was walking to the bar; of course Robin had seen most of this as him and Batman were constantly checking back and forth from the video feed and the streets outside of the clubs during that mission. He found it unpleasant and awkward seeing things from this point of view, he wasn't sure how females dealt with this kind of crap on a daily basis. Maybe they just didn't notice, but from this angle it was painfully obvious to him.

Tim doesn't remember seeing any of the next footage; he figured it was because it was of Dick walking over, he probably decided to keep his attention on the streets at that point. He remembers hearing the conversation but looking at the footage the scene plays out a little different that he thought. Dick quickly puts down his coffee and rushes to fast-forward that part of the video but he was too late. Tim smirks at the older boy as he notices the flicker of the eyes and the sudden panic at the realisation of the camera in the pendent.

"Shut-up" Nightwing says not looking at the boy but feeling the smirk.

"What? I didn't say anything" he says trying to hold back a laugh at the older boy's embarrassment.

"You know what. And it wasn't what it looked like… it was an accident."

"Sure it was. Has she seen this by any chance?" Robin says with a raised eyebrow.

"Um no, I made sure I skipped it…" Robin's grin just gets bigger. He was sure that his adopted brother had more of a thing for Barbara than he let on, even if he wasn't ready to admit it to himself yet.

They pulled their focus back to video. Deadly silence as they watch Luke Jenkins suggest perverted things to their teammate. It was pointless to watch again, they found nothing helpful. They let it run even though they were sure nothing useful will come of it.

Nightwing suddenly jumps from his seat and turns up the volume. They listen to the conversation realisation washing over them "Holy-crap that is her. Iris. She was there and she was watching Barbara the whole time with Luke Jenkins, listening to the conversation. It wasn't an accident that she bumped into her."

"What does that mean?" Robin says.

"I am not sure."

**Chapter 11**

**Unknown Location: unknown time**

**Barbara's POV**

I was pretty sure it was the next day, I had fallen asleep for a few hours, I didn't mean to but damn it could be boring being a prisoner. I decided to take up singing. I wasn't a bad singer I will admit but to be honest I couldn't give a shit even if I was crap. I sit leaning in the middle of this cell again singing on the top of the lungs.

_"Hey, Hey-Hey, Hey- "_

"I see you have gotten over your stage fright Barbara, I never knew you could sing so well" this bitch again, honestly can't she see that I am busy?

"Kingswood, Wolf. What can I say, I got bored" I say casually.

"Something we might have to train out of you I think." She says moving closer to the bars, putting her thin discoloured hands through the bars.

"You could try, but I have poor listening skills" I smile getting to my feet, walking to face my captor, staring right into her eyes.

"You haven't changed one bit Barbara. Still hiding behind sarcasm. But I like it, it takes guts talking to me the way you do. Unfortunately we don't tolerate disobedience here so that part of your personality will have to go." I put my hands on the bars just above her arms, bring my face closer to show her I aren't hiding from anything.

"I can see you are still trying to prove something to the world." I break my graze as I hear movement down the hall. First I see only darkness, then three figures moving towards the artificial lights. I soon see it is two men dragging a body by their arms towards my cell. My heart stops as I get a better look, unable to form any words. Long black hair hides an unconscious beaten girl. She is stripped naked; her body limp, dripping in orange glossy liquid. Jamie Lee, age 22, I believe, she had long black hair like that and only went missing recently. They put her in the cage opposite to me, which means she is still a live that is a good sign at least, I think…

"What did you do to her you bitch!" The evil bitch had never taken her eyes off me; studying me with a knowing sinister grin. She puts her hand out to touch my face. I grab it pulling her forcefully into the bars causing her to hit her head onto the bars.

"Ouch! You little- you know what! I was going to wait until tomorrow but let's just get this over with now. Boys, open the cage." She brings her hand to her head stopping the blood flow from a small cut she received. It doesn't stop the smile from her face.

"Looks like you are going to get your wish Barbara, let me show you what we did to her." Great, now I have done it. So much for stalling time to give the boys or team a chance to find me or realise I am even missing! I put my right foot behind me, preparing for battle. I wasn't about to go down without a fight.

"Tat-tat, I wouldn't do that if I was you." A small laughter came out. Before the cell door was opened a pink dust was thrown into my face. Great. Too late I inhaled, just got to do as much damage as possible. I close my eyes as I am now unable to see; I calm myself listening for movement. Two guys, both in front of me coming from different angles. There you are. I smile ducking as a man to my left goes to grab me; I grab his hand and stick the needle into the side of his neck. It wouldn't do any real damage but would certainly give the guy a shock. I hear a scream, then movement from the man to my right, I push the first guy into him and walk three steps in front of me, doing a front kick to make sure no one was there. I try opening my eyes but no such luck. They were stinging like crazy making my vision blurry. I feel for the bar to my side, I feel it with my left hand to get my bearings, taking another step outside my cell making sure to keep my ears open and my hands up. I can hear movement behind me; the boys aren't going to stay down forever.

"I am impressed but you haven't thought this through. Once my gas takes full effect your body will give way. Don't worry, you will be conscious and it won't last long. But it will be long enough." I can feel the bitch smiling, her voice coming from my right, she didn't even move from her spot. I am insulted she didn't see me as a threat after I hit her head against the bars. I move quickly and aim a punch to her face, she blocks but I grab her arm pulling her closer and knee her in the gut then I let her go and side kick her away. My kick feels soft even though I know she has fallen to the ground. I want to move but she was right, my body is starting to give way as my eyes are starting to get their sight back. I feel two sets of hands grab either side of me. This wasn't good. I try to struggle free but there is no use. The discoloured girl on the ground picks herself up.

"You little bitch you are going to regret that! Take her to the tank!"

I am being dragged down a hall, full of cells just like mine, ending in a median side stone room. There was a table to my right, full of colourful chemical and plants. To my left a giant tank full of a see-through orange liquid; I got a feeling that is the 'tank' she was referring to. I hit the ground hard; those bastards just throw me and I was not able to move my body to break my fall. Fuck that hurt. I slowly try to move myself, it is laboured but I can feel my pinkie-finger coming back. I hear foot-steps coming towards me.

"I doubt you are going to listen to me after that little display but the more you resist the more painful this is going to me. I suggest you just give in but I will admit I am looking forward to hearing you scream" she laughs. I didn't think it was possible to hate her more until this very moment.

The next thing I know I was being stripped down, feeling helpless, angry and perhaps a little frighten if I am honest with myself. Until this very moment I didn't think it would have to come to plan B. One of the men picks me up off the ground and carries me over to the tank; I feel heavy, already drained of energy. I am not sure how I am going to handle being under- whatever the hell that was. The man climbs a latter slinging me over his shoulder like some sort of bag of potatoes. And without warning I am chucked into tank and a sudden jolt of pain washes over me from my feet to head. I slam my hands out for grip finally getting some control but completely losing it to the pain I feel. It is like an energy bolt, reaching to every part of your body; as if something is trying to reach inside to the deepest part of me. I try to get out but a hand pushes my head in and I let out a scream.

**Gotham City: Thursday 10 pm **

The moon is full tonight, glorious and proud. Staring up into the sky watching clouds go by, the world did seem to fade away bring a calm wave through one's body. Nightwing stared up at it hiding up on a rooftop across the city park's gate. The very same building Batgirl was a few nights ago, he didn't know that though. He thought about what Barbara had said, about feeling so small looking up into the sky. He wonder if she could see the same night's sky where ever she was. He felt a small tug at his heart at the memory of her bright smile while she spun around breathing in the cold night's air.

He turned to movement behind him, it was Batman followed by Robin. Nightwing gets right to the point "Kid Flash, Artemis, Superboy and Miss Martian are going to join us to search the park; they should be here any minute. Aqualad has another team looking elsewhere in Gotham."

Batman puts his hand on the young man's shoulder and gives him a nod, then without a sound jumps down into the ally, the other two follow his lead and do the same.

They wait inside the city part entrance, hiding away in a corner to the left; they don't want to draw a crowd as it is still early. Kid Flash is the last to arrive.

"Sorry guys, I had to get this cat down from this tree. I kid you not, the little girl was screaming her head off." Artemis shakes her head and Nightwing decides to ignore the statement and hands him an ear-piece, he explains Batman prefers them over psychic links. Batman steps forward gaining the young heroes attention.

"I have prepared maps, Nightwing and Robin has them already. Artemis seeing as you are also familiar with this city here's a tablet with a map. Each map has highlighted areas that team is to cover but also tracks where each team is so we all know each other's locations. Kid Flash with Artemis, Superboy with Robin and Miss Martian with Nightwing. If you find anything at all report back, do not do anything until we get there. Understood?" Everyone nods and heads out.

Miss Martian and Nightwing walk for a while without saying a word. She is worried about her friend and she is worried about how Nightwing is taking it. "Do you sense anything yet Miss M?" She snaps out of her thoughts and replies.

"Nothing yet. Um Nightwing…" She takes another good look at him and thinks better of her question; it was no time to be asking him how he is doing. He turns his head seeing her expression, he has known the girl for a long time now, he knew when she was worried about him; he takes a breath in.

"I am sorry I am not more chatty. I know I haven't been pleasant to be around. I just don't have time to be worrying about anything else. We will find her, I know it. We just have to." They keep moving forward, him walking, her flying, she takes another look at him and realises he truly believes it.

"I know we will" Miss M replies.

*Guys come in. It is Kid Flash. We found something… you might want to get here fast.*

Artemis looked away, trying to hide her face as she feels a tear running down her face. Kid Flash stands there waiting for the others. Not sure what to be thinking but feeling sick to the stomach; he is not sure how to progress anything at the moment. He sees Batman coming, his torch lighting up the dark park, he is glad he is here helping them. Batman always knew what to do.

Miss Martian and Nightwing were the furthest away and therefore the last to arrive. He picks up his pace; needing to know what they had found, never stopping to question if he wanted to know. Faces turn as he makes his way closer, they looked distraught, his heart beat a little harder.

"Nightwing stand back" Superboy calls out. Miss Martian tries to stop her partner from moving forward but he is too quick and flicks her hand away from his shoulder. He moves Kid Flash out of the way looking at what Batman was holding. He feels his knees get weak; his throat tightens as he processes what he is seeing. They all knew they might find something like this, but no one had said it. Tears come to his eyes as a small portion of his hope escapes him. It was Barbara's black dress from the night she disappeared, it was torn and muddy, her shoes and undergarments on the ground wrecked. Someone was making a statement; it was left here on purpose, to be found, but why? Was it just some sick message or was there something more behind it? Batman knew something wasn't right, he just didn't know what yet.

Miss Martian stood there in shock when she saw what was found. She also didn't know what to think or want to believe that it is anything like it suggested. She didn't understand this part of human nature, how could people be so cruel to each other? To violate something so sacred. To even had such thoughts. It disgusted her leaving her to question if there was any hope for this world.

Nightwing was still shocked, trying to understand what this meant, how to go about the mission now. Did this change anything? He knew it didn't, but it still made him more anxious to find her, he needed her to be safe, to be okay. He felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Nightwing... it is okay, we will find her." It was Kid Flash, he was just trying to be supportive.

"Okay!? Okay? Everything is NOT OKAY! EVERYTHING IS FAR FROM OKAY! I should have dragged her out of that club myself. I should have listen to my gut! I knew something was off I KNEW IT and I just watched her walk away from me. I failed her. And I am failing her now! How am I meant to handle this! We all know what this looks like! We all know what is probably…" He still couldn't say it, to really think it, to admit the raw horrible true of this world. He knew these things happened, he normally could handle it. But when it is someone you know, someone you love, it cuts a little deeper; bring a cold reality to the forefront of your mind. Everyone felt hopeless, lost. Not knowing how to respond.

Robin stared at the mud, it hadn't rained since Saturday he was pretty sure. And if she was in mud her shoes would be covered but they aren't; they just have a broken heel, perhaps she fell over. He took the dress off Batman studying it closely, turning it inside out; half paying attention to Dick's outburst. He wasn't heartless he just didn't have time to think about him at the moment. His eyes go wide and a small part of him feels a little relief to know that Barbara was alive and Batgirl was sending them a message.

"Wait, it isn't what you think. Batgirl left us a clue" everyone turned to look at the Boy Wonder, all in shock as he holds it up, it was only a word, but it was something "IVY."


	5. Lost

**Chapter 12**

**Unknown Location: 10:30pm **

Barbara lay on her side, soaked and cold. She was exhausted but determined. She bites down on her lip causing blood to drip as one of the men kicks her in her stomach.

"For the last time Barbara what are you hiding? Everyone has secrets; surely it is not worth the pain keeping them. Prove yourself to me" she forces herself to open her eyes staring at her captor.

"Fuck you Ivy" she manages to spit out. She receives another kick to the side, she clenches her fists; she is too weak to move.

"Fine! Put her in again! No one can resist this long, it is not possible." Another woman approaches, it is Iris, her skin green covered in leaves like a one piece bathing suit matching Poison Ivy's with only slight altercations. Ivy's was strapless, whereas Iris had vines reaching from her top covering her right arm all the way to her fingers.

"Mistress please, the last girl who went in the tank more than twice consecutively died. She has already been in the tank four times, surely she cannot handle more. What does it matter if she doesn't spill her secrets? As long as she does her job then that is all that matters." Poison Ivy doesn't take her eyes off the girl on the floor.

"Because anything worth holding onto for this long must be important. But perhaps you're right; if she doesn't spill after one more time then I will let it go." Barbara didn't quite hear what was happening, she wanted to slip into unconscious so bad but these freaks weren't letting her. She was starting to lose comprehension of what was what; all she understood was that no matter what happened she couldn't let Ivy know who she really was. She couldn't give away her identity, Tim's, Dick's and Bruce's. She couldn't even hint at the fact she knew who Batman was. Ivy would never stop trying then. Not to mention all the other secrets she knew. She would lose herself completely before she gave them up. She felt herself being lift up again. She wanted to brace herself but she had lost all strength, all she had was to hold her mouth shut and hope to get through the pain.

She is dropped into the tank once again sinking to the bottom, she lets out another scream unable to control anything as she loses her mind to the orange substance. Ivy makes her way to the tank staring at the girl, watching closely as if she is studying a beautiful painting.

10 minutes later and Barbara is once again is on the ground. She never thought she could feel so heavy in her life and she doesn't think she could even lift her pinkie at this moment. As she gives way to the blissfulness of unconsciousness she thinks she hears an alarm go off.

"Mother the security cameras are picking up movement on the top level in the conservatory. Three of our men are already out." Iris says as she races over to Poison Ivy.

"I smell Bats." She walks over to the table irritated grabbing a string with a purple substance in it and hands it to Iris.

"Give this to the girl. We are going to have to put the plan into action. If we don't move fast it will be all for nothing. Get them out of here. I will deal with the weeds upstairs. You two do as she says, no one is to know of this room, understand?" They nod picking up the red head on the ground and moving towards the other cells.

Ivy walks over to the far end of the room, moving her arms she summands a giant flower beneath her, swallowing her whole and moving upwards into the roof transporting her to the conservatory. There were no doors, no windows, or tunnels into or out of this room. The only way in or out was through the ground.

**Poison Ivy's Conservatory: 10:50 pm**

**Dick's POV**

This was it. I can feel it, this was a real lead; we were finally getting somewhere. The place is a giant glass dome full of lush exotic plants of all colours. Poison Ivy had escaped from Arkham Asylum five months ago. We went searching for her as soon as we found out but she was nowhere to be found. This place was on our list of possible hind-outs, she was predictable as much as she was insane. We had checked it out a few months ago but the place was pretty dead; there wasn't much sign of even plant life. Now there was plenty as well as mindless goons patrolling the grounds; she was here that was what I was sure of. She has the ability to control males through a kiss, lucky for us we have dealt with her plenty of times now so Robin, Batman and I had long ago found an antidote, as long as we didn't get too much of her toxin in our system we would be fine. Unfortunately Superboy and Kid-Flash are not protected so they are keeping an eye out, outside of her reach. Robin and I take the left side of the building, Artemis and Miss Martian take the right, disability any men and looking out for Ivy as well as the missing girls. Batman takes a direct approach drawing attention away from us. He walks through the middle not bothering to hide away; his plan was to confront her.

Robin and I jump out at two more mindless men, both of us using the same sequence of moves to disable them. Knocking their guns out of their hands and then elbowing them in their heads, kicking them down, knocking them out. We turn them over and tie their hands together, ready for the cops to retrieve them. We are a well-oiled team, knowing each other's moves, moving forward without a sound. We stop at the edge of the dome, we have covered our area and now squat in the bushings watching Batman; waiting to see what happens, if we will be needed. I look over at the far end, I see a tip of an arrow; Artemis and Miss Martian have taken out their guys and are waiting for further instructions. Artemis readies her arrow just in case.

Batman stands still as a giant flower sprats from the ground a few meters in front of him. It opens up into a beautiful orange and red flower holding a green toned woman with long straight deep red hair. Her eyes a deep green, her lips dark red, wearing only leaves shaped as a one-piece bathing suit. Green leaved boots coming up to her knees, long vines covering her hands and arms. She smiled as she lays eyes on her opponent.

"Batman, my it has been a while. If I knew you were coming maybe I would have prepared a fruit patter."

"I am in no mood for games Ivy, where are the girls?" Batman demands.

"Girls? What on Mother's green earth would I need with girls? My powers of seduction only goes so far with girls" she says casually. I am not convinced and either is Batman.

"Don't play dumb, one of the girls left a note on her clothing mentioning your name, why would she do that if you had nothing to do with it?" She is caught out, you can see the irritation on her face, but she wasn't going to give up anything.

"Oh, really? Out of curiosity it didn't happen to be Barbara Gordon's clothing did it? I heard on the radio that the commission's kid was taken. You know we used to be friends Barbara and I. Maybe she was asking for my help. But then again you did poison her against me."

"You and I both know that isn't how it happened Pamela. You took things too far; she came to me for help, to save you before things got out of hand. If you care about her at all still you will tell us where she and the other girls are now!" She shakes her head and in a low seductive sound she says,

"Like I said, I wish I could help but I have no idea what has happened to the missing girls. But if you do find them, tell Barbara I said hello."

"Miss Martian, is she telling the truth?" Batman calls out, indicating for everyone to come out. Ivy's face drops for a second, she looks panicked. I can feel my blood boiling. Ivy is a sneaking bitch and just like any other villain she would say and do anything to get what she wants and save her own ass.

"Who the hell is this? Recruiting more kids again Batman? You would think with what happened after the other one you would have been smarter."

"Shut-up Ivy, you don't know what you are talking about." I speak up, I have had enough listening to her crap.

"Well, well, well, it has been a long time, Nightwing, now isn't it? No-Batman Jr? And the latest Robin I see. Wow, the whole family, you must be serious, I must say I am flattered Batman. But wait… where is the other Bat-brat?" No one replies, we don't answer to her. She watches us, trying to figure out the strange choices for this little miss-matched team.

"Ouch, get out of my head!" Ivy goes to attack but Artemis shots a warning shot stopping her. She would have to be stupid to try and attack us all on her own if she could avoid it, and she isn't stupid.

"It's no use Batman, something is blocking her mind, and it's going to take hours to break them down, not to mention how dangerous it could be." Everyone is silent trying to work out what to do next. Sirens break the silence as the police finally arrive. Ivy looks pissed and she gets ready to fight.

"Tie her up, we will hand her over the police and let them interrogate her. We will do another sweep of the grounds and see if we can find any clues."

Five giant seeds sprat out of the ground turning into dark green carnivorous plants. I get my escrima sticks ready. I don't have time for this. Barbara needs us and now we have to fight off plants! Great.

**Chapter 13**

**Gotham's City Park: Friday 8 am **

**Barbara's POV**

What is that sound? Is that a bird I am hearing? Why the fuck is there a bird in my bedroom? And why is it so bright in my room. I feel someone shaking me awake turning me over on my back. What the hell? I push them away and crawl backwards until I hit up against something. Ouch! My vision is blurry. Adjusting to the light I realised I am not in my bedroom, far from it actually. A girl sat in front of me completely naked with her arms around her trying to keep herself warm; she looks about as wrecked as I feel- my head is pounding! The girl looks familiar, her short blond hair sticks out in my mind…"Annabell Sage right?" the second girl missing.

"Right! How did you know? Oh and I didn't mean to freak you out sorry, we were just getting worried because… well our memory is a little fuzzy but whatever happened…I think you got the worst of it."

I look around taking in the scene in front of me. We appear to be in the city forest, must be in pretty deep in it too; I can't see any paths, signs or anyone else, well who isn't naked anyways. Sarah Jones, Steph Queen and Jamie Lee were all staring at me with sympathetic looks. Why the hell were they doing that? I looked at myself, oh, not only am I also missing clothing but my stomach was covered in buries. Same with my wrists, it doesn't really surprise me too much… I am not sure what happened but I know myself well enough to know I probably pissed whoever took us off enough that they would feel the need to teach me a lesson.

"It's fine, just would you all stop looking at me like that? I know because before I went…missing…I was following your cases. I know who you all are. I am Barbara Gordon, the Commissions kid by the way. I would say it is nice to meet you, but you know, this isn't how I normally like to meet people." I give them a half-smile, joking was how I coped and hopefully it would distract them just a little bit.

"Also is anyone else having a killer headache right now? I feel like someone shook me around like a rag doll." I rub my head; this wasn't good.

"Not so much. I don't remember much… but I remember the screams… and the men" a tear rolls down Sarah's face, she was third to go missing, so I guess it makes sense her memory would be slightly better. I can feel myself getting sick. This looked bad but I can't help but feel like it isn't what it looks like. It was hard to shake that feeling but it was also hard to shake what it looked like…

"Okay, two things, one why the hell did who-ever let us go? And second we need to get ourselves out of here ASAP before we freeze or before they change their minds." I look at the girls waiting for a respond; they are in shock, still trying to piece together what has happened to them. Annabell speaks up again.

"I have no idea. I remember them being in a rush, spraying me with some dust again…next thing I know I woke up here with you girls. I woke up 5 minutes ago?" I nod, and try to stand up. Fuck, this is going to be harder than I thought, I feel like gravity got a whole lot harder to compete with. I manage to stand, letting go of the tree behind me I was using for support.

"Okay, I know my way around these areas pretty well. If we can make it back to the city, I can get us to the station. We need to stay together; naked chicks are going to attracted some…unwanted attention. So stick together and hold your heads high." They get up and I put my hand out for Jamie to hold, she takes Annabell's, Annabell takes Sarah's, and Sarah takes Steph's hand. I lead them through the park.

After about 10 minutes we get to the park gates and stand next to the street. I am suddenly hyper-aware that I am still butt naked and of all the attention we were attracting. This wasn't my day. Lucky for us there are lots of taxis around Gotham city and we manage to get a maxi, it was a female driving which I was thankful for, which I know is a little silly. I told her who I was and that my Dad would pay for the ride once we got to the station. She told us to get in before we freeze to death. She recognized our faces from the news and was happy to help us out.

I let out a breath; it was good to be sitting down. I feel like I haven't slept in weeks and smelled pretty fucking bad too. What the hell did I get myself into? Dad was going to be pissed. Shit Dick was going to be pissed. My stomach tightens at the thoughts of seeing all the men in my life. I don't think I can handle them looking at me… like I am damaged.

**Gotham's Hospital: 9:30 am **

**Dick's POV**

God I hate hospitals. It was never a good thing to be here in my opinion, if we are here, then something went wrong. But this time was a little different, it was all over the news, the girls had re-appeared suddenly this morning emerging from the city park. And I was much happier knowing Barbara was here than in some…somewhere else. Bruce, Tim, Alfred and I wait in the waiting room; we aren't allowed to go see her yet. Alfred brought some of his famous chocolate cookies he knows she loves; food was his way of looking after us. I have brought some things from her place so she can leave in fresh clothes. Her Dad hadn't had a chance to get anything but Bruce told him we would pick them up and that he should stay with his daughter. It was driving me crazy, I just had to see her; make sure it was really her.

They have been running tests on all the girls, gathering evidence and making sure they were all okay. It was unclear what had happened. All we knew was that none of them were completely sure of what happened to them, they had just woken up in the park together without anything on. Reports say the commissioner's kid led the girls out of the park and got them to the station. It does sound like our Babs. I wish I could have been there for her. I can't imagine what that would be like and I really don't want to.

A nurse came in drawing all of our attention. "The Wayne family is it?" Bruce nods, she gives us a funny look, I don't think she was expecting us.

"Miss Gordon insists that you are family and should be allowed in. Considering what limited blood-relation she has we have decided we would allow for you to see her now. She is on the third door to the right, room 901." I practically race out of my seat, not bothering to wait for the others but knowing they are not far behind me.

Barbara and her Dad were on the left side of the room. To the right was another girl with her family consoling her. Barbara was sitting up in a hospital bed holding her father's hand talking to him softy. I stop in the doorway not knowing what to say, she looks up and notices me "Dick!" she goes to get out of her bed but I race over.

"Barbara don't get up!" her father says.

"Babs!" I lean over and pull her into a giant hug without thinking if I should be careful or not. She responds wrapping her arms around my neck and putting her head into my neck.

"God Gordon you have no idea how good it is to see you" I whisper.

"I missed you too Pixie boots" she whispers back and I can feel myself breathing again as relief washers over me. It was really her.

I pull away reluctantly; I know I am not the only one anxious to make sure she is okay. Alfred gives her a kiss on the head and hands her the cookies.

"It is good to see you Miss Gordon, I wasn't sure what to do with all the cookies."

She smiles. "Thanks Alfred! You are the best!"

Bruce takes a turn next, gives her a hug and whispers something in her ear.

"Thanks Bruce."

She looks over at Tim who looks a little lost. "Well are you just going to stand there all day or are you going to make this crazy girl beg for a hug?" She gave him a soft smile. He buries his head in her neck hugging her tight, she looks a little surprised and wraps her hands around the young boy, chocking on his words.

"Barbara I am so sorry, I… I didn't keep my promise" comprehension crossing her face and I can see tears forming under her eyes.

"Oh Tim, no- no don't say that. You couldn't have known, this-this isn't your fault at all. Please don't beat yourself up over something silly.  
She hugs him a little tighter and closes her eyes letting silent tears roll down her face. He pulls away avoiding eye contact with everyone, his eyes full of sadness. I put my hand on his shoulder, I didn't stop to think about that promise and how he would be handling everything. Maybe we should have talked. Sometimes you can't always keep the promises you make, sometimes it was out of our control.

"Well, now that mushy crap is over with. I heard you have some clothes I can change into. I think I am done with the naked life and hospital clothes so if you don't mind-" of course she would make a joke out of this. She looked at me with a '_too-soon'_ face, I hand her the clothes.

"Too- soon." But I give her a little smile because I am just glad she is here. She gives her Dad's hand another squeeze as she moves the blankets off herself getting herself out of bed. She makes a face displaying that she is clearly in pain but refuses to acknowledge it. I watch as she walks off to the shared bathroom.

"It was good of you all showing up. I know it means a lot to Barbara. I can tell she has been especially anxious to see you Richard. She kept saying 'I just hope he is okay and doesn't yell at me'" James Gordon says.

"Oh-my-god Dad stop I can still hear you, you know!" Barbara whinges through the bathroom door. I can feel my cheeks turning red. Tim laughs and I give him an evil glare. Alfred hits him over the head whispering him to be quiet.

"Well it is our pleasure; she is like family to us. I still remember the first time Dick invited her over. I must say it was a nice surprise to hear so much laughter in that big old house." Bruce said, it was odd hearing things like that from him, sometimes I forgot that he did notice these things, he sounded so father-like, it was a bit off-putting to be frank, I didn't know how to handle it.

"Oh yes, I must say it was a nice change. That little girl always brought laughter and happiness, unfortunately they always knew how to make a mess too" Alfred pipes up, all men having a laugh at the memories. James grins with another memory.

"Oh and I remember when she first told me about your boy. I must admit I was a little suspicious that it wasn't just a little crash but she assured me that they are just friends" he uses quotation marks as he says that. Everyone bursts out into laughter. I can feel myself going bright red and rub my face hoping to hide away, I hate parents.

"Dad! Come on! Do you even realise the crap I am going to get for that!?" Barbara makes her way back into the room; she is wearing blue jeans, a purple hooded jumper and her black converses, I knew she would want something comfortable to wear. I smile at her, I can't help but enjoy the fact that she has also gone bright red; it almost matches her bright red hair.

"Yeah but it is true, you can admit it Babs, I was adorable" I smirk at her.

"See! I told you!" She shakes her head but smiles. She looks past me, her smile fading. I turn to see what she is looking at. It is the other girl. Annabell Sage I think her name is off memory. I turn back to Barbara. Everyone had continued talking. But I moved closer to her.

"What is it?" She looks at me, her focus snapping back. She looks anxious, determine to get something out. She moves away from me and falls to the ground in front of her Dad.

"Barbara! What is it?" He says startled.

"There is something I need to tell you- I just can't… Arrgh! The case, it's not what it see-argh!" She grabs her head in pain, shutting her eyes and clenching her teeth. Her father reaches out for her but she pushes him away getting up and backing up.

"Barbara! What is it!?" I go to grab her but she screams as soon as I touch her. I quickly back away.

"Get away from me! I am not going to give in! Argh!" She falls to her knees and we all move towards her wanting to help. But every time one of us touches her she screams at us to get away and not to touch her. Bruce calls out for a nurse to come in quickly but before he finishes Annabell rushes past me and kneels in front of Barbara grabbing her arms then whispers to her.

"It's me. It's okay, they can't hurt you anymore. I promise." She leans her head on Barbara's, she calms down. Tears rolling down her face. She still hasn't opened her eyes. No one moves, unable to understand what just happened. Everything was fine just a minute a go, what happened? She looked like she was in pain but how can that be?

I looked up at the nurse, she stood away, not knowing what to do; it seems she wasn't needed anymore. The next thing I knew a bunch of girls push past Bruce and kneed on the ground around Barbara. It was all of the girls that had gone missing, Steph, Jamie and Sarah. It was like something had processed them, bring them together. They all put their hands onto Barbara's back, closing their eyes. It seemed to calm her more.

Barbara opened her eyes, looking confused and lost. She suddenly got up and backed away from the girls until she hit the wall behind her. She stared at them, trying to comprehend what had just happened. She looked up at me, my stomach clenched she looked lost, pleading for me to tell her what had just happened.

I look towards Annabell and spoke before thinking, asking the first question coming to mind, breaking the silence in the room. "Why didn't she scream when you touched her? She doesn't even know you, how did you managed to calm her down?"

I needed to know, it hurt so much when she flinched from me. The girl looked at me and then to the rest of the room "isn't it obvious?"

"No" Bruce said in a firm voice, he was clearly hurt too.

"I hate to be sexist here but you are all men. She wasn't thinking straight, panicked because of what those men did to us. They screwed with her mind the most because she wouldn't… tell them what they wanted to know. That is all I could gather from my cell. It was awful…I guess she just needed a woman's touch." No one said anything, all still trying to work out what they saw.

"NO!" Barbara shouted, "I know it isn't like that…" She grabs her forehead sliding down the wall.

She whispers, "my head, it is so cloudy… but… it just can't be…" My heart breaks, I don't know what to do. I am afraid of setting her off again.

Her Dad gets up, moving closer to his daughter but not wanting to touch her; I am guessing for the same reason I am keeping my distance. He goes to say something but then looks back at Annabell.

"But we are all she has. What happens if she has another panic attack?" The girl was lost for words, unable to answer the question. A feeling of hopeless washes the room.

"I am not staying here." Barbara speaks up looking directly into her father's eyes; she hated hospitals just as much as I did.

Bruce spoke up, "You don't have to. Jim, can I have a word? I think I have a temporary solution."

He gets up and starts walking towards Bruce, he looks my way clearly reluctant to leave his daughter's side. "Don't worry, I'm not going anywhere." He nods, looking a little relieved. They walk out of the room and down the hall, I guess to the cafeteria.

The nurse gets the other girls off the ground and kindly gets them out of the crowed room; they all stare at Barbara until they leave. She ignores them, still with her hands on her head. I decide to sit down next to her leaning on the wall, being careful to keep my distant still. Alfred takes Tim and says they are going to wait in the waiting room, both still looking white and distorted.

Barbara looks up at me for the first time in 10 minutes "Dick?" I look back into her aqua blue eyes.

"Yes Babs?" I can see the clogs working in her brain, trying to figure everything out.

"Am I broken?" I felt my insides tighten, it felt like someone was taking me a part, bit by bit. Why would she ask that? Why would she think I would know the answer?

"Barbara I don't want to ever hear you say that again. You have been and always will be prefect and whole in my mind." She burst out in tears and puts her head on my chest hugging me tight. I put my arms around her and let tears escape me. It was so hard seeing her cry, I have rarely seen her show this kind of emotion before, she was either angry or sad or happy but never…lost.

**Barbara's apartment: 3 pm **

Barbara was in her bedroom sorting out what things she needed to pack for however long she was going to be away from home. She wasn't sure how long that would be but she figured she could always make a trip back easy; once Dick went on a mission that is, he of course would be watching her like a hawk, she was certain of it. Bruce managed to convince her Dad it was a good idea if she stays with the summer school teacher she used to stay with when she was younger. He said she was a good friend of his and would be able to help me through this hard time. It was really Dinah Lance, AKA Black Canary and it was never a summer school, it was always Mount Justice. She had made up that pathetic lie years ago and she wasn't happy about it but she knew that her father would never understand Batgirl. And that wasn't a part of her she was willing to give up. Bruce didn't want to lie to him either but agreed that it was her decision whether or not she told him and also knew that once he knew that his daughter was Batgirl, it wouldn't be hard to connect the dots to the Wayne family.

"I found this on the couch, it's of you and Dick when you were 10. I remember taking the photo. You were so excited to go to a 'real fancy ball' as you put it. It was really just one of Bruce's charity balls. But we got you that puffy red dress. You looked like a real little princess." James Gordon said in the door way of his daughter's bedroom reminiscing over an old photo. He hands her the photo, she takes a look at it and lets out a smile.

"Oh my, look at that hair! That is the last time I get you to do my hair Dad."

"I think it looks adorable thank you very much. And I think you should take it with you, same with this one, so it feels a little more homely there." He passes her one of her photo frames from the hall-way-table outside her bedroom. It was a photo of her and her Dad from the Christmas before. She smiles and puts them in her bag.

"Thanks Dad but I am not staying long. Just until you get this case done with and… yeah…" She didn't really see the point of going. I mean she did, she guessed she shouldn't be left alone for a while just in case she has another panic attack but how long will they last? If she was honest with herself she guessed she just didn't really want to see the team. She didn't want them to know she was taken. She didn't want them to look at her differently and she most certainly didn't want them to worry about her.

She hated this idea but on the plus side she wouldn't be a burden on her father. With her out of the city it meant he didn't have to worry about her while he worked on the case.

*Knock knock knock*

"That will be Dick now to pick you up. You sure you got everything?" James Gordon looked at her daughter, still unsure with this arrangement but he felt better knowing that Dick would be with her the whole time. He knew that boy would do anything for his daughter. At times he was suspicious of their relationship and he wasn't sure if liked it or not but he watched them grow up together, always there for each other. He knew he could reply on him to be there for her when he couldn't.

"I am sure. My bag is full of chocolate and alcohol, that's enough right?" She smiles at him.

"Barbara you better be kidding about the alcohol." He doesn't look impressed, still looks worried.

"Joking of course, only a few joints tops… joking!" She walks past her Dad carrying her bag and opens the door throwing her bag at her friend.

"Nice to see you too Gordon." Dick says looking at the bag.

She turns around and gives her Dad another hug, "hang on, I will walk you down. I have to get back to the station now anyways."

"Yeah, I know." She gives him a half-smile. She just needed a hug.


	6. Change

_**Sooooo there will be some smut in this one too, so you are warned! Also let me know what your thoughts are so far please? This is my first story EVER, like I didn't even write in school because back then I hated english/it is a long story. So I really have no idea if this is readable to anyone else...It is hard to know when it is your own work, you know? :P But if you have managed to read this all so far I am very grateful! You are awesome x  
Also if you are one of the handful of people following this story sorry about being spammed with chapters all at once! I have actually had this written for awhile now and just haven't had the chance to upload it. :) **_

**Chapter 14**

**Mount Justice: 3:20 pm**

**Wally's POV**

I hear the zeba-tube go off and race to the entrance. It seems most of the team has had the same idea as they are also making their way to the entrance. We know who it is going to be and are anxious to see our teammate who was recently missing.

*Recognize Batman-B-zero-twenty*

*Recognize Robin-B-zero-nineteen*

*Recognize Nightwing-B-zero-one*

*Recognize Batgirl-B-zero-fourteen*

They all stand side by side, waiting as the last one enters. Their expressions are all serious; they usually are when it comes to this group. Batman is wearing a grey suit and dark glasses just like the two boys next to him however they are just wearing casual jeans and shirts. Barbara is last to walk in. She looks just as serious but even more pissed off. It feels so good to see her, in this business when someone goes missing for that long… it is never a good sign but I never gave up hope. I want to go give her a hug but hesitate as there is a thick tension in the room. Normally I might ignore it however it isn't just that stopping us. Robin messaged us via video a while ago letting us know she was okay and coming to stay here for a while but to be cautious to keep our distance. Well we males anyways. Never had I felt that being a male would put me at disadvantage. She was here not to be physically safe but because the doctors felt she might prefer being around other females and she didn't have a mother to look after her. Way to rub that in. I am glad I wasn't the person to explain that to her, I have a feeling she wouldn't take to it too well; by the looks of her now, I am going to take a stab in the dark and say I am right.

Barbara walks in stopping to look at the men next to her, rolling her eyes. Then looking at the team in front of her "I swear if anyone one of you starts treating me like a china-doll I will break your arms. But let's get this over with. Hi I am fine, nice to see you all, air-hugs, blah blah blah, we good?"

She pulls a quick fake smile and starts walking to the door, throwing her black duffel bag to the corner and starts pulling off her purple jumper revealing a white t-shirt and bandaged around her wrists. She shoves the jumper on top of her bag before she turns to walk out the door.

"Batgirl." Batman states. She stops in the door way, he waits until she turns around to look at him before he continues.

"Dinah is here if you need anything. No missions, no going out without someone until you are completely healed. You know where to find me if you need."

You can see she isn't happy about it but bites her tongue instead of arguing in front of the team.

Black Canary walks towards the girl gaining her attention. "I think I speak for all of us when I say it is good to see you Barbara. We were all worried."

"Thanks. I know, sorry guys I know I am a bit moody right now. I just have a lot of things to do right now." I am confused, what is there to do but rest?

She starts to turn away again ripping off her bandages and revealing purple and black buries, some clearly hand marks.

"What things? And what are you doing, shouldn't you leave those on" Dick speaks up and starts walking towards his friend as if no one else was in the room. He looks worries and a little frustrated at her.

"I really don't see what point they have besides irritating the crap out of me. And if you must know I am going to find out what the hell happen to me! Starting with blood work. There is no way I am waiting around for the hospital to get back to me."

The team looks uncomfortable but no one makes their way out of the room. Probably not wanting to draw attention to themselves. I have seen this scene way too many times between these two. I have a feeling they are about to clash heads. Should I get involved? Mm this time, I think not.

"Don't you think you should rest? You just got back! You're meant to be looking after yourself not working!" Dick raises his voice. He looks over at Batman waiting for him to say something but he doesn't. I don't get him sometimes; I would have thought he would be backing up his son.

"Really!? Don't think you can get him to tell me I can't do anything else! I said I would stay here but good luck trying to stop me from figuring this out! You don't know what it is like! Just waking up in the middle of nowhere. Not knowing what has happen to you! Pains racing though your body, screaming at your family to get away from you and then not remembering it! Watching your faces even now as you look at me like that! Not knowing what to do with you! Knowing that someone should interview me but normally I would handle these because I am the only bat-_girl!_ I know something isn't right but every time I get…"

She puts her hands to her head, clenching her teeth and shuts her eyes. She looks like she is in pain but refusing to show it. What the hell is happening to her! A few people call out her name and move towards her but stop as they hear Batman call out.

"Stop. Give her space." Dick backs up a few steps, his face full of hurt. I move forward, trying to get a better look, see if there is anything I can do but knowing there isn't. I feel useless.

Dinah moves forward reaching out for the girl "Barbara what is happening?"

She snaps opens her eyes and lets out a frustrated yell. Bring her hands to her side and clenching them hard enough that her nails are digging into her skin. I wonder if anyone else notices the drop of blood coming out of her left fist.

She pauses getting her composure back. Then addressing the room.

"I don't know. But I am going to find out. Now do I have to give myself a blood test or is someone going to help me out."

"I will. Come on." Dinah says following Barbara out of the room. Batman nods at Dinah before leaving the base with Robin.

The room empties and I watch as Artemis and Megan walk out with a few of the other girls. It appears they might be game enough to venture into the medical bay where their friend went. Artemis turns around and glances at me looking unsure; I try and give her an encouraging smile.

All that is left is Conner, Kaldur and Dick. He still hasn't moved from his spot, he is just staring into the distance and thinking. I can't imagine what it must be like for him. I move towards them.

"Nightwing my friend, are you alright?" Kaldur breaks Dick out of his silence.

"All I keep thinking is she is here. She is home, it will be okay. But it's far from it" he replies.

"It will be. She just needs time. She is one of the strongest people I know and she has you to help her through it, so I am not worried." I say and it is true. Dick was a good friend, he has been there for me when I needed him and I know he would do anything to help Barbara.

He turns to look at me, still with the same worried expression "Thanks Wally."

He gives us a half-assed smile and walks off out of the room.

Call me naive but I was kind of hoping things would just go back to normal now she was found. Now I don't see things going back to normal for a while.

**Mount Justice: 1 am **

**Barbara's POV**

This is pointless. Who needs sleep anyways right? Wrong. I feel exhausted. Every time close my eyes I feel myself being pulled into darkness. A part of me just wants to give in; to sink down into deep hole inside myself. Another part is afraid I won't come back from it. The logical side is telling me I am just over-tired and beat up so stop being an idiot and get some fucking sleep. But another is saying keep fighting, don't give in. What the hell am I fighting though? Why do I still feel afraid? I can't remember what happened so why am I so afraid to close my eyes? Fuck it. I am getting up.

I switch on my bedside lamp and hop out of bed picking up a sports bar, baggy top and tracksuit pants that I so neatly left on the ground. Maybe if I keep hitting something long enough I will force my body to fall asleep. I walk to the bathroom avoiding the mirror at all costs. I really don't need a reminder of how bad I look right.

I open my door and start to walk out when I notice something by the side of my door. What the hell? I decide to give it a little kick.

"Dick what the hell are you doing?" I say shaking my head. He was sitting up by my door asleep. He jumped up quickly as I startled him awake. He puts his hand on the wall to steady himself as he is still looks half asleep.

"Babs, shit sorry. I um fell asleep…" He says looking a bit awkward.

"I noticed. What were you doing?" I knew what he was doing. But I wanted to see what he would say. Plus it is rare that I catch him off guard like this, I have to make him panic a little. It was my duty as a best friend.

"Um yeah, I was just… wow this looks super creepy. I just couldn't sleep-before. I haven't been sleeping since… and just wanted to make sure you were okay. We haven't really spoken since we got here. Which is fair enough but I got here… to be honest wasn't brave enough to knock and have you tell me to go away." He looks just as bad as I feel. I can't imagine what he must be going through, if he went missing as long as I did…. I am not sure how I would be taking it. I guess it is fair to say he would be missing me. Sometimes I didn't think of it that way. I forgot that people actually generally care about me. It is a weird thought; to think someone is thinking about you.

"I couldn't sleep to." Why am I telling him this? It isn't going to make him feel any better. I am not sure how much I can trust myself talking I am that tried right now.

"I guessed as much. Where are you going? It is a bit late to be training don't you think?" He says looking down at me. I am regretting putting on my smelly baggy t-shit, I really hope he isn't in smelling distance- what am I thinking? Why do I even care, it is Dick! GO TO BED BARBARA YOU ARE THINKING CRAZY AGAIN!

"I know. I just thought it might help. I don't know, sorry. Sorry for before, I shouldn't have yelled. You were right and I know I am not helping myself right now but I can't explain what is happening. I keep picturing weird things. I don't know what is real or what isn't. Sorry you don't want to hear this."

He looks down at me with those sad eyes. "It is fine, don't worry about it. You don't need to explain anything to me. But if you do want to talk I will always listen. Maybe we should get some herbal tea Megan always goes on about. Hopefully it should help both of us get some rest without risking hurting ourselves more in the gym. Sleep deprivation and training can end badly, I would know."

That was probably a smarter move. He gives me a half-smile and I match it. It was nice how he made it more about both of us instead of focusing on me. He knows me well enough now to know I hate being the focus of attention like that.

I follow him to the kitchen holding his arm for comfort, only letting go when he goes to the kettle. I decide to wait for him on the couch still feeling a heavy weight on my shoulders. I am not sure if I have ever felt this weak in my life; I really wish I knew why.

Dick walks over bring me back out of my thoughts. He hands me a cup of tea and sits next to me putting his right arm over the back of the couch behind me. He sits a bit further away than he normal would. I hate that. It is weird that I noticed but I guess it is because I know why. He thinks if he gets too close I might freak out. Again what the hell Barbara who the hell freaks out when their love ones are too close?! That is why you are here instead at your Dad's place. I push those thoughts away, I am too tried to be thinking about it anymore.

"Thanks" I say. I am not sure what else to say just yet. God that place between his arm and chest looks really comfortable right about now.

"No problem. What are you thinking?" I look up into his eyes and let out a sigh. Stuff it, he will have to get over it; I am pretty sure I am not going to freak out anytime soon; I really don't see how my body can be bothered. I put down my tea and lean into his chest and put my right arm around his chest. His body is tense, I caught him by surprise yet again; that is becoming habit of late. When he realises I wasn't going to freak out he relaxes and puts his arms around me pulling me in a little tighter. This is better. We don't say anything for a while.

I talk suddenly without thinking about "I don't remember much. Just feeling like crap and a poorly-lit cell. Then a voice telling me to stop fighting, it will be easier to just give it. I remember sticking a needle in some guy's neck. Kicking another and then not being about to move. Then feeling as though I am drowning. I can't believe I was so stupid. I can't believe… any of it. I am so embarrassed I let myself get taken like that."

I feel a kiss on my head and being pulled in tighter.

"You aren't stupid and you shouldn't be embarrassed. It was beyond your control. We both should have been smarter true, I should have listened to my gut. I knew something wasn't right and I just watched you walk away from me." I can hear his voice tighten and my heart hurts a little more.

"Dick there wasn't anything you could have done. Please don't do that to yourself. You know I love you right." We have known each other for years, of course we loved each other; we were best friends. We just didn't say it often, just when we thought the other needed a reminder.

"I should have dragged you away. You would have hated me but it would have been worth it because I love you too Barbara." I didn't know what else to say, I knew I wouldn't be able to convince him otherwise.

"Hey, I know I probably shouldn't ask but do you remember writing that note… we found it on your…" he didn't want to say the words, I can tell the memory hurts him, I know he found it. The police said Batman brought it in.

"No… The police asked me the same questions. I have no memory of ever doing that. It seems such an odd thing…let's just forget it, let's just be here; just forget everything." Something pulls at the back of my mind but for once I ignore it. I don't want to risk ruining this moment by digging too deep.

We don't talk for a while and after more debate with my body I decided to give into the darkness. I let sleep wash over me dragging me into oblivion.

**Chapter 15**

**Mount Justice: Saturday 9 am**

**Dick's POV**

"_This was a bad idea, what were we thinking" I get back into bed and reply to the red-head in my bed. God she looks so good. Her hair spread out behind her, only covered by my bed sheet looking up into my eyes. I grin knowing she is mine. _

"_We weren't but that is the beauty of it. Honestly I don't know why we didn't do this sooner." I lean down and kiss her pulling the sheets away. _

"Morning Richard" a low female voice says but not the same one. Wait morning? What?

"Zatanna?" I say opening my eyes slowing waking up. What is she doing in my room….? Wait I don't remember going to bed last night. I look down and see Barbara still curled up around me. Crap. This doesn't look good. Shit I got to get glasses on; this is why I always keep a pair in my pocket.

I suddenly jerk up, regretting it as I woke up the red-head. She sits up looking as confused as I was. She puts her head into her hands leaning on her elbows; she really wasn't a morning person.

I heard sniggers to the right of me, I look over the couch and see not only Zatanna but Raquel, AKA Rocket, both former members of Young Justice and now members of the Justice League. Both also happen to be my ex-girlfriends. I am on good terms with the women but they both used to get annoyed at my relationship with Barbara. Now they don't care and just say they are _"waiting until the day we admit to each other that we aren't just friends._" I tell them they are wrong constantly but I have to admit, being caught cuddling on the couch doesn't help my case, not to mention the dream I just had… but they won't ever know about that.

I grab out my glasses and put them on. Most of the older team members know who I am but the rest don't.

"Oh ha ha, it isn't want you two are thinking. What are you doing here anyways?" I say light-hearty.

A blur of red and yellow blows a wind into the room: Wally. He stops next to Raquel and speaks up before any of the girls have time to reply. He speaks so fast I can barely understand him; but I have known the kid for years so I have become a bit of an expert at it.

"Isn't-what-who-are-thinking?-wait-I-thought-I-told-you-not-to-wake-them-up" Great. I guess it could be worse; the whole team could have been up. Wait, what did he say?

"What?" I say a bit confused.

The girls look at Wally clearly not catching anything and just decide to ignore him and answer my question. "Well not to burst your bubble hot-shot we didn't came to see you. We came to see your just-_friend._"

Oh ha ha. But that makes sense, she was their friend too, they of course would want to see her in person after everything.

Our eyes draw to Barbara. I frown as she still hasn't moved; still has her head in her hands with her hair covering her face. She looks tense all over her, something isn't right.

"Babs, are you alright?" I reach out to her out of instinct. Before it reaches her I gasp as she grabs my wrist unexpectedly without moving from her spot. No one says anything, confused and afraid of what might happen.

"Don't." She says lifting her head up opening her eyes. She gets up letting go of my hand and turns to walk away from the couch. Standing for a second getting her balance. She walks to the back of the couch and looks up at first the girls and Wally, taking in the scene then moving her eyes back to me.

"I'm sorry, I just- I. I'm not sure." I feel myself sinking a little; what was happening with her? How am I meant to help if I don't know what is going on? Some friend I was.

She looks at the girls. "Hey guys. Sorry you caught me at a bad time; I should probably get changed into something a bit nicer."

It was weird how she could go from serious to casual like that. They look uncomfortable, clearly sensing the mood changing from light-humour to tense. Normally Babs would join in on the banter; she would usually point out that my exes were here to start a '_Nightwing-fan-club'_. She was impressed but not surprised I managed to stay friends with most of them. Although she wasn't that impressed with the amount of teammates and friends I have gotten with. A part of me wishes she didn't know about them.

"That is fine, we just came to say hi really and that we are glad you're back. We just wish we could have helped." Raquel says with a soft smile speaking for the both of them.

Barbara smiles back and moves to hug both of them. She goes to say something but seems to discard it. Instead she smiles at them and Wally giving him a little wave as she walks out of the room.

Zatanna looks my way with a worried expression "Is she okay? I don't think I have ever seen her like this. I mean angry sure, sad, well she usually masks it pretty well. I could only ever tell when you would point it out; even then I don't think I actually noticed, I just took your word for it."

I look up at the guys; I don't know what to say. I mean what can I say? How am I supposed to know? I am just as confused as they are.

I get up thinking I should probably freshen up. Ignoring most of her statement because I don't have the answers they are looking for. "I don't know. I am going to get changed too. Training starts in a few hours. You are welcome to join if you like."

**Mount Justice: 9 pm **

**Tim's POV**

I sit at the kitchen table tuning out of the conversation between Bart and Jaime (Impulse and Blue Beetle). I replay the past day in my mind. Today has been a strange day. Maybe I am going crazy or Barbara has been acting strange. Well stranger than one would expect. The day started fine, I guess. I mean I was still pretty anxious to see if she was doing any better and if Dick had lighten up. I know it is unreasonable to think they would be after a day but wouldn't life be great if that was the case? Anyways, as I was saying it was fine. Actually I heard a rumour that Batgirl and Nightwing were caught cuddling on the couch so I thought maybe they had found comfort with each other. Which grosses me out to the max but at the same time is comforting on a weird level. I thought maybe things would be back to normal in no time. Yet as the day progressed that felt doubtful.

Nightwing had started training like usually; a run on the beach. It was one of the quieter training sessions, I guess everyone was still pretty bummed out. Dick wasn't his overly-cheerful-self from the weekend before. Instead he was quiet except for instructing us onto the next activity. Not that I blame him, it is just I didn't realise how much I prefer the former Nightwing. Barbara was sitting on the beach far from us, only meters away from the water just starring, letting the wind blow her hair out of control. I know what you are thinking, that isn't so weird but it was freezing, the day was over-cast and she was only wearing a black shorts and a white singlet, it didn't seem to faze her. And well I have never known her to act like this and the beach wasn't really her scene; there was nowhere to hide on the beach, you are all exposed. Like most of us (well the bat-clan) she preferred to hide her deepest emotions from most people, only stopping to think in the middle of the dark when she thought no one was watching. I noticed. I know Dick did too but again it was rare. Here she sat letting her thoughts creep across her face, exposed on the beach, not caring who was around, acting like no one was around. It is unlike her.

After the run and warm-up I glance back at her noticing she is still on the beach and doesn't seem to notice us walking back to the cave. Instead gets up and as if in a trance starts to walk her way to the ocean. She takes off her singlet exposing a black bar and a beaten stomach; it was worse than I imagine and I suddenly felt sick. "Arr shit. She isn't going to-" Nightwing lets his words wash away as he watches her walk into the water.

"Okay. Everyone inside. Megan take over training, it appears I am going swimming today." Nightwing gives his orders and rans towards Barbara. He calls out to her, and she stops turning around to watch him catch up to her, she is only knee deep. It must be freezing but it doesn't seem to bother her. Dick takes off his shoes and catches up to her. He was serious about joining her, he must be crazy too. I would have told her that she was nuts and to get out of the water before she gets frost bite, really am I the only one with a brain? I can hear the team whisper but I ignore them and go inside.

The next time I saw her was in the office after the mission. We were in small teams doing re-con. It seems large amounts of chemicals have been going missing in different parts of the state. No witnesses and so far nothing unusual. I went to the office to start up writing a report not bothering to even change out of costume; it was always good to make notes when it is fresh in your mind. She doesn't notice me until I am only meters away, that is strange in itself; I don't think I have ever caught her off guard before. By the time she notices me I have already gotten a look at what she was looking at. It was the profiles of all missing girls, all the notes we had so far on the case. "Oh Robin. I was just checking over a few things. I am guessing you need the computer, I am done now anyways."

There was more than one computer I could work on and she knows that. That was just the main one. She quickly gets out of the screens she has up, I could have sworn she had the notes about Ivy up too. It was odd because she knows I am not going to tell her off from working, even if I tried she would normally give me a death stare and ignore me. She left the room before I could say much, I am not sure what I was going to say but I did want to talk to her. The hospital haunts my every thought; I just needed to know, to understand what was happening. I'm not really sure; I just hoped she was doing better.

Another behaviour I noticed was during dinner. Saturday nights we would do a great dinner and make a point to sit around the kitchen and lounge around to eat together. Megan had made a roast, she loved to test her cooking skills on us and she had become quite a good cook. Barbara had stayed in her room most of the day since the beach but came out for dinner. She didn't join us, instead she plated herself only vegies and left. I am not sure if anyone else noticed or cared but I know she isn't vegetarian, she constantly said she couldn't live without meat. Okay so I am picking on things that could be nothing. But I am still not convinced the attacks are what they seemed. The autopsy on Jessica sore, the first girl to go missing said it wasn't clear whether or not she was sexually assaulted, it was concluded she died from a heart attack. She was a perfectly healthy woman with no serious medical history; it was unusual. It is also unclear as to what the chemicals found on her did exactly, tests were still being completed. All that plus the note Batgirl left for us indicating Poison Ivy had something to do with it; it was a strange person to just make-up, I highly doubted it was for what Ivy said about asking for her help because they used to be friends. Batgirl has no recollection of doing it but playing with poison chemicals was certainly up Ivy's ally, kid-napping girls however, not so much. She can't control women, what good would they be? And then why let them go?

I look up as I see Dick walk into the kitchen. He plates himself a late dinner, he decided to work on some things in the office; probably catching up on all the school work he has missed out on the past week. He likes to work in there in case any of the team needs him, they won't have any trouble finding him. He joins some of the older team members in the lounge taking a seat on the ground leaning against a wall next to the T.V. All the couches were full; Mal and Karen curled up on the single seat; Conner took the other single, while on the main cough Zatanna, Raquel, Artemis took the main couch with Wally sitting on the arm next to Artemis. Is it just me or do they seem to get getting along better lately? Megan sat on the ground in front of the girls. Dick joins in the conversation every now and then but mostly appears to be blending into the background just like I am.

"Rob, Game of Thrones or Breaking Bad? Earth to Robin!" Bart says gaining my attention. Dam it seems I have been caught out.

"Nether, I don't watch T.V. Well rarely anyways." I responded.

"Wow, could you get any more interesting?" Jamie says sarcastically. I decide to ignore him and instead excuse myself and walk over to Dick.

I decide to sit next to him leaning on the wall, not sure what I want to know.

"What's-up? You look like you're in work-mood" He says. I feel a bit uncomfortable really talking with the others around, I don't really want to have a group conversation about my worries about Barbara. I ask him the first question coming to mind without really putting too much thought into it. I just knew I wanted to understand.

"What was with the beach today? I get BG is going through some things but why did you join her?" I look up at Dick. He looks a little startled by the question, taking a few seconds to think about how to respond.

"Actually I agree. That was weird. What was up with that?" Conner adds in gaining the rooms attention. I forgot about his super-hearing, I didn't think anyone could really hear us from the floor. I was kind of hoping to avoid the group's input.

They all wait for Nightwing to answer. Clearly I was not the only one curious by it. Nightwing looks a bit uncomfortable but decides to answer anyways.

"Um, I am not sure. I can't really explain it is just something we do. Okay not swimming in freezing water; that I do not recommend. It..." He pauses for a little bit looking at the floor in front of him.

"It's okay, you don't need to explain to us-" Megan pips up sensing that it might be something he would like to keep to himself.

"No, it is fine. It is just personal. I mean I don't mind you guys knowing, it is just not a very happy story or interesting really." No one makes an effort to stop, indicating they were still curious. I guess it wasn't often he would share a piece of his other life with them. He continues.

"Okay so, I think I was about 12? And I was having a bad week, just missing my parents and my previous life. School was too structured for my liking. I missed the days were home schooling meant I could have more freedom. I got to school watching all the other kids race to class. I decided to stuff-it I am going to bail. As you know Babs and I have been friends for a long time and she noticed that it wasn't really my day that day. I didn't think she was watching me, thought she would just go to class and I could slip out the doors without anyone noticing. I am guessing you have noticed by now that she doesn't miss much. She followed me out the school gates and cornered me. I thought she was going to give me a hard time and drag me back but instead she gave me this look saying she understood and said '_honestly did you think you could wag school leaving me here to suffer by myself? Stupid boy when will you learn, but seriously where are we going?_ We sneaked into the zoo and got into a whole heap of trouble when we got back. I was grounded for a month? I think she got just a bit over that. Anyways, my point is she didn't ask why, she didn't try to convince me to go back to school because we could get into trouble, she didn't really question at all. I asked her later about it, she said she didn't need to know. All she needed to know is that her friend was upset and needed to do what they needed to do, all she knew was that she wasn't going to let me do it by myself."

He got up off the ground taking his plate with him. He looked exhausted. I wasn't sure how to respond to the story, neither did anyone else. Maybe under different circumstances it would have been funny to think of them ditching school and then breaking into the zoo. And frankly this story explains a lot of the crazy shit they do sometimes. But watching firsthand the pain they go through; it was nice that they had each other.

He didn't come back; he left to do more work I guess. I can hear the others starting to talk again; I am not sure what about. I am not really in the mood to socialize so decide to head to my room on the base to do some work.

**Mount Justice: Sunday 8 am **

**Dick's POV **

*Knock knock knock*

Awww who the hell is that? The clock says it is 7 am and I am not at the Manor so it can't be Alfred giving me a hard time about going to my lecture which is at 9 am, which is hours away mind you. Wait, I don't even have class today, it isn't Monday!

"What?" I call out grumpily. There better be a good reason for waking me up, it took hours to fall asleep again last night. And it is Sunday so training doesn't start until after 10:15 am. I hear the knob turning and door opening focusing me to open my eyes and turn towards the door.

"Good you're awake!" Barbara said hovering in the doorway. She wore a blue and green high-cut floral dress flowing just above her knees, a long sleave navy-blue cardigan and white high-heels. Her red hair was draped to the side showing off circle silver studs. I am confused, why was she dressed up and why was she here? She isn't dressed up for me by any chance?

"I wasn't but I guess I am now. What's up?" I don't make any effort to move, this bed is really comfortable. She moves to sit on the side of my bed giving me a big smile. Okay this is either a dream and she was going to start undressing now or she wants a favour. I am guessing the latter.

"Sooo I was thinking you could drop me off at that cute little cafe near campus so I could catch up with a few people while you go sort out your classes and homework that I know you have fallen behind on. The university is opened on weekends before you ask. I would go by myself but Canary and the big-old-bats are really pushing those orders and I would rather not have to sneak out and cause everyone to fuss. But I told Canary that you would be with me anyways so it will be sweet. I also thought I could pop-in to see Dad and then maybe the library to see about getting some shifts this week." She stares at me with a big pleading smile.

So she isn't dressed-up for me then, damn. There goes my Sunday by the looks of it, it isn't like I am going to say no and she knows it.

**Bat-cave: 3:30 pm **

**Tim's POV**

The cave was silent, if I didn't know any better I might have thought no one was down here. But I knew better and seeing as Bruce wasn't up in the study I bet he is down here working on the case. I walk down the stone steps without a sound walking towards the computer. Sure enough, as predicated Bruce was at the computer working on the case. I pull up a chair next to him studying the screen.

"Is that the test results? What does it mean?" I ask not bothering with small talk.

"Yes. But it is strange. Star Labs are still not sure what it all means, they are still running tests. So far it doesn't seem to be affecting any of the girls, only their memory. The substance appears to just be floating in their systems. What's troubling is that Batgirl seems to have nearly triple of the amount in her system compared to the others."

"Does she know yet?" I ask, trying to work out what it all means. It could be nothing. It could just be something messing with the girl's memories so they can't identify their captors but that seems like a lot of effort to go to. There were plenty of drugs that could already do that, there was no need to go to this extreme.

"No. And until we know more there really isn't any point in bring it up." I can't say I agree with that decision but I do see his point, it seems harsh to remind her that she has some toxin floating around in her and then to tell her not only do we not know what it is or what it does but you have a crazy amount in your system. Yeah, I am not sure how I would deal with that. Barbara was strong but she isn't stable at the moment.

"I don't know. She seems different." I say thinking-out-loud.

"What do you mean different?" Bruce turns to me interested in what I had to say. He was in full Batman-mode now minus the costume of course.

"I am not 100% sure yet. I could swear she looks paler than usual but that could just be her body healing. Doing things like taking a swim in the freezing ocean yesterday, not caring about who saw her buries. She seemed as if she wasn't aware of anyone else around. It sounds stupid I know but it just seems odd. I could have sworn she was looking at a file of Ivy too. Then today she is all dressed up meeting some friends like it is all nothing. She only just got back and I am no expert but I would think if… well what we think happened then it would take longer than a day or two to get over it." Okay saying it out loud didn't make it any less of a stupid observation. And I still couldn't bring myself to believe that any of the women were violated like that. That Barbara-I couldn't allow myself to think about it at all.

"Do you know who she met up with?" Batman said. I think back to when I saw Dick and Barbara leave the cave. They barely said anything just that she was going to meet some friends at a café while Dick sorted out his school work that he had missed. I shake my head and before being asked I pull out my mobile from my pocket to call Dick. After a few rings he picks up.

"Hey Tim, what's up?"

"Hey, where are you right now? Can you talk?" I ask. I am not sure if I want Barbara over-hearing the conversation.

"I am at the library waiting for Barbara to finish talking to her boss. She is taking forever. Hang-on I will go outside before someone tells me off for being on the phone. Okayyy, go."

"Who did Barbara have coffee with today?" I ask getting right to the point and then putting him on loud-speaker.

"Wow it is funny you mention that because I had a little argument about that with her. When she said catching up with people near uni I figured she meant Bette and a few others from class. But I finished my stuff early and decided to go join them 20 minutes earlier than we planned. When I got to the café she was gone. I started to freaked out until I notice her come around the corner with Annabell, followed by Steph, Sarah and Jamie; all the missing girls. She didn't see the problem or the need to mention that." Dick was clearly angry at the whole thing. I don't blame him, this wasn't just something to leave-out.

"She should have mentioned it. You're right Tim, something doesn't feel right about this whole case. It never has." Batman stated.

"Okay being told I was on speaker-phone would have been nice Tim. But I agree. She… she seems different. I know it sounds crazy but she even looks different. Her skin is paler and her eyes look like they have a bit of green in it now. I could have sworn they were completely blue."

"Oh really? Doing a whole lot of staring into each other's eyes are we?" I tease, I couldn't miss the opportunity.

"Ha ha, you know I could say the same about you and-"

"Enough. Focus, it could be nothing but that is now both of you now saying the same thing. Something isn't right and now with the strange test results and the medical reports coming up with no clear sings of assault, it is suspicious." Batman said cutting Dick off. What did he mean the same about me and who?

"Wait, test-results and medical reports? You have them already? And they said-?" Dick said, with worry in his voice.

"Yes, they came in today. No sign of sexual assault on any of the victims but they didn't rule it out. It is still unclear as to what the substance does but Barbara appears to have more in her blood steam." A part of me felt relief mixed with worry hearing that out of Bruce's mouth. I didn't think to ask about the medical reports just yet but now hearing it, it just reinforces my previous feelings about something not being right. I suddenly felt like we are running out of time, as if we are only beginning to catch onto what is really going on. I just hope that whatever is happening to these women we can stop it before it's too late. Why do I feel like Barbara is still missing?

**Chapter 16**

**Mount Justice: Monday 7:00 am**

**Artemis's POV **

I wake up to the sensation of a hand running slowly up and down my back, coming to rest on my hip. "Morning beautiful" a whisper followed by a kiss to my neck. God a girl could get used to this. Actually a girl could already be way used to it and may soon come to rely on it every morning from now on. That is a scary thought. Yet comforting.

"Morning Wally" I reply with a smile to my face. I don't want to open my eyes just yet, don't want to even think about getting out of this bed just yet. I grab his arm and pulling him as close as I can, it feels so nice having him against my back. He makes me feel as if the world has stopped just for us. Time means nothing when we are here in this bed. I have never felt so prefect, so strong and complete, all while only being covered by a bed sheet. I never would have thought Wally West, the most annoying person I know could be the one to make me feel as if I could get lost in his embrace forever. As well as having the power to drive me wild with just one touch.

I push my backside up against him, feeling his morning glory calling out to me. His whole body tense with anticipation, we don't have a lot of time, I know. Yet I am going to make every minute last as long as possible. His hand starts roaming as he continues to kiss my neck. Damm this feels wonderful, why did we wait so long to get together? Not that we are 'officially' together, we haven't spoken about it at all really. There is just this understanding between us that this is right but we don't want to say it out loud to risk the chance of ruining anything.

He grabs my breast tighter now, sending a buzz though me forcing a moan to escape my lips. At that sound he moves his hand down below and starts to stroke me causing me to come alive. I reach back running my hands forcefully though his hair encouraging him to join me. We are so in-sync now that he knows exactly what I want. He moves down and I bend a little now waiting, in one motion he enters me sending a flood of sensation though me. We move slowly then picking up the pace fast, thrusting in and out. Our breath picks up fast, getting louder and louder, forgetting completely where we are and allowing my thoughts to go cloudy.

"Artemis—" he moans my name asking for permission to speed things up. As much as I love to make things last I know I have to be getting back to my room before the team starts waking up and I have to do the walk of shame from his room. I brace myself knowing that it is going to take all my strength not to scream out in pleasure. I turn finally opening my eyes to look into his, grinning he matches my expression and moves his hand to stimulate me from the front while he speeds up his thrusting. I completely let myself go unable to hold onto my moans; wave after wave of pleasure passes though me until I let out of a scream as I reach my peak. He soon follows, his hands tightening around my waist. Speedsters, they know what to do.

He drops next to me as we catch our breaths. I turn to look at him; what a way to wake up.

"Fuck, that was…something else." I say, he looks up at me smiling, pulling me into a kiss.

"Damm we got to start sleeping elsewhere. I would not be surprised if the whole base heard that!" He says teasing, I hit him in the arm feeling myself blush. He pulls me into a hug kissing the top of my head then whispering. "If I had it my way I would have you screaming like that every day three times in a row."

Damm now that would be something. We still haven't spoken about where we are going but a part of me feels myself slipping down a path of no return. It is exciting yet scary at the same time. I have never felt this way before, never felt so strongly about belonging anywhere before. Never felt this accepted; Wally just is. He lets out this feeling as if he was always just waiting for me. As if he was just waiting for me to come home to him.

*Knock knock knock*

Who the fuck is that?! Panic raises through me as I quickly sit up looking at Wally, he looks just as surprised and jumps up; with in a split-second he is dressed in red tracksuit pants and black t-shirt. Meanwhile I am still butt-naked! I jump out of bed grabbing my clothes from the ground racing to the bathroom.

*Knock knock knock*

"Wally it's me Nightwing."

**7:40 am **

**Wally's POV**

I open the door letting Dick in. I feel as though my checks match my hair colour. Only a few minutes ago I was collapsing next to the most beautiful sexy creature I have ever seen. I can still hear her moans in my ears, ringing as she calls out my name. How am I meant to ever get the thought of her naked out of my head? Not that I want to, if I had a choice I would spend the rest of my life dedicated to pleasuring that girl. As far as I am concern Artemis is a goddess.

Alright focus, you can't be thinking about the naked blond in your bathroom while your best friend is here to talk. God but, there_ is_ a naked full-grown woman in my bathroom! Dammit focus!

"Hey what's up? Um did you want to talk here or on the way to the kitchen?" I say, I should try and get us out of here so Artemis can get out of the bathroom without having to explain what she is doing here. Not that Dick doesn't exactly know about us but I am not sure what _us_ is yet, so yeah, best not to have a situation where we have to explain it. I really don't want to mess this one up. Like badly don't want to mess it up.

"Actually here is better, less likely for anyone to overhear. And Artemis you can come out too. You should hear this too, maybe." Shit, did he just say? Yep, he knows she is here. I look over to the bathroom watching the door open. Artemis slowing walks out wearing blue tracksuit pants and a green crop-top. How does she make training gear sexy? How did I ever get with her?

"Um hi…" She says clearly a bit embarrassed.

Dick walks to sit on my desk and speaks. "Hey Artemis, don't worry I won't tell anyone. See not even going to make a joke about telling-you-so about how great you two would be together."

"We're not-"I was going to say 'together' until I made eye contact with Artemis, a sort-of look passed between us, an understanding that maybe we were and that was okay. Actually that was way better than okay in my books. Just like that Dick had given us a title without realising it. I owe him big time for that. I move to sit on the end of my bed and Artemis joins me and we look up at Dick.

"Never-mind. What's up?" I say, bring the conversation back on track. He didn't look too good. I doubt he was getting much sleep with everything that has happened. If I didn't have Artemis here, if we were supporting each other, I am not sure if we would have gotten much sleep either.

"So first off, I am sorry to bring the mood down and everything it's just a good time to talk without drawing attention to this conversation. Actually that is a lie; I shouldn't even be talking to you guys I guess. I just needed to talk to someone and the person I normally talk to… well I can't." Dick says moving to sit in the desk chair avoiding eye-contact. We all know what this is about.

"Hey no stress. We understand. Things are rough. But it's Barbara she will pull through, it has only been a few days." Artemis speaks up, I am glad she is here, she might be better at this than me.

"I know. But I don't know. She seems different… She looks different. I know it sounds stupid but I know her, I have known her for years, it is just a feeling. Rob reckons things don't match up and now Batman agrees. The reports came back, she has a crazy amount of that chemical in her. And… they said she wasn't…assaulted." There was a pause while we let the information sink in.

I don't know what to feel. To be honest I just didn't let myself think about any of it before, finding out she was missing and then finding her clothes in the park was enough to make me block out all feelings towards ever thinking about that. She was found and as far as I was concerned it was over and things would surely get back to normal in no time. But now hearing this and thinking about how she has been acting, she does seem to be acting strange but to be honest who wouldn't be acting strange after going through, whatever she went through. I am so confused, if that isn't what happened, what did they want with her? With all those women?

I look at Artemis and I can see her thinking the same thing, she looks pale white. I can tell she feels horrible about it all. We all do, we were there that night, all of us and we just let her go. Hell I encouraged her to go. But it wasn't Artemis's fault, it wasn't anyone's. I grab her hand to give my support; she squeezes my hand in return.

"Okay, this is good? Kind of, once the lab works out what this chemical does we can cure it." It was all I could think to say. We sat there for a while; we had never had to deal with this before. Personally I prefer things where we just have to beat some bad-guy up or stop a bomb going off and all is sweet. This whole week I have never felt more helpless.

Maybe that is why Artemis and I kept seeing each other after that night. We realised we didn't have forever to play games. We needed each other; I just didn't understand that until now.

**Chapter 17**

**Gotham City: 7 pm **

**Tim's POV **

This is boring. Tailing people is one of the worst aspects of this gig. I mean sometimes when it is a nice night and you need some time to think it can be therapeutic but I have been tailing Barbara now since she left the base at 11:27 am. It isn't easy work either as she isn't easy to tail without being spotted; I have to be extra careful with her. Seeing how out-of-it she has been lately it isn't as bad as I expected it would be. Still as I said before, really BORING. Black Canary and Batman said she could go for lunch with her Dad and then to work as long as she kept tabs in to make sure she was alright. She hasn't had another major-freak-out as far as we know and she is a grown woman so it isn't like they could really stop her unless they had a really good reason. I am keeping tabs to see if she does anything out of the normal. She has been acting strange so Batman and I agreed it might be a good idea to keep a close eye on her just in case. So far she hasn't done anything unusually. She went to lunch with her Dad like she said then he walked her to the library where she started her shift. That was five hours ago now. About two hours ago Dick visited her to give her coffee and check-up on her but really it was so I could have a bit of a break and so I was able to change into my Robin uniform as it turned dark. Now here I sit, across the road high on the rooftops, waiting for her to finish.

It was a Monday so I really should be at school right now however I got Alfred to call in sick for me. He wasn't happy about it and didn't see why Dick couldn't have done this instead of me but it would have been harder for him to explain where he was all day if she was to ask. She would have expected him to be fussing over her like he has been doing since she got back. She wouldn't think twice about me saying I was at school all day. Alfred saw the reasoning behind it but warned it was a once off-thing and I better get my butt to school tomorrow.

Finally movement! I can see Barbara through the glass walls of the library making her way towards the door with her handbag so I am guessing she is leaving. Honestly I could really use a walk about now. She makes a right onto the streets of Gotham which is a good sign as it is the way to the zeba tube which equals home-time and food for me. It might have been one of the most boring days I have had in a long time but it was nice to know she didn't do anything unusually today.

She makes a left crossing the road meaning she was on the same side as me now. It is quite dark now so I am not too worried about her spotting me up here but I still make sure I hide behind odd bits of building and posts on the off chance she looks up. I notice she makes a phone call while she continues to walk down the road. I am too far up to hear any of the conversation, I am sure it is nothing though. Not far off the zeba tube, only another five maybe seven minute walk. She makes a quick left turn down an ally and then a right, what the hell? This isn't the way back to base. Where are you going Barbara? She has picked up her pace out of nowhere and I almost lost her after a few more turns. I notice the lack of people around, she seems to be heading towards the seedier parts of Gotham, this is strange. I hear something shatter and then a sudden loss of light from two street lights, leaving the ally where BG had just walked into completely dark; that isn't good. A sudden shrill cry followed, panic rises in me I know that cry, Barbara! I drop down from the rooftops without hesitation and go to grab out a glow stick from my utility belt. I place it out in front of me illuminating the darkness, shinning alight a young dark skinned girl with long black hair. She just stars at me with a sad expression, she looks so familiar, wait isn't that Jamie Lee? One of the girls from the case…this isn't good. I go to turn around but I was too late, something hit me across the back of the head hard causing me to fall down. I turn onto my back and crawl backwards lifting up my arm in defence, my eyes fuzzy as they try to form a picture in front of me. Slowing it forms an image of three figures surrounding me.

"Oh Robbie, why couldn't you just let me go?" No, it couldn't have been her…

"Barbara? What are you doing?" I go to get a batarang from my belt but something wraps around my wrists before I make it to my belt, dragging my hands down to my side. What the hell!? Before I can fully recover my barring I feel hands pull out my communicator, trackers and belt; that is extremely bad. The ground around me moves and I jolt trying to get away as giant leaves engulf me cutting all light out and causing me to lose consciousness. The last thing I heard was the sound of the ground moving around me and the feeling of dropping deep into the earth.

**Gotham city: 7:23 pm **

*Batman to Robin come in.*

*Robin report back.*

A communicator lies on the ground in the middle of a dark alley.

*ROBIN* Pleads of a worried father falls upon deaf ears.


	7. Transformation

**Ivy's hideout under the conservatory: 8 pm **

A dazed young Robin lies in the middle of a dirty old cell. He slowly wakes to cheer and commotion outside his cell. Pushing himself off the ground to an upright position he tries to get his barring. His attention his drawn by a sudden outburst,

"You brought WHO here?" An irritated female voice spoke.

"Mistress, she said there was no other choice. Plus isn't it a good thing? Now we have some leverage in case we have to face the Batman?" Another woman spoke. Robin was pretty sure he knew who the first voice belong to. But he wasn't sure how, last time he checked this particular person was locked back up in Arkham with heavy security considering how she was able to escape last time.

He looks up as a bunch of women surround the entrance to his cell. His attention was drawn to the green figure in the middle confirming his suspicion, Poison Ivy. Silence surrounds the cell as they stare at each other; Ivy out of disbelief and annoyance that the boy was in fact in her presence, he out of confirmation of his theory and to show he wasn't afraid of her. He breaks it in order to take in the rest of the scene before him. To Ivy's left was a green-skinned woman who he recognised as Iris Hayden, the women who kidnapped Barbara; he suspected she was the other women he heard earlier. To Iris's left stood Jamie Lee, her chocolate skinned was now replaced with a slightly darker green tone as Ivy's. To Ivy's right stood another three women, all he recognised as Sarah Jones, Annabell Sage and Steph Queen, all the missing girls whose skin colour was also transformed different shades of green. All women were covered with leafy one-piece bathing suits with slight alterations, some had straps, some had both arms completely covered by leafy- sleeves, and some had only one arm covered.

He sat in shock as he realises what really had happened to these women. Now he just needed to know for what purpose? She could already control men with just a kiss, what point was there to make Ivy-clones?

"Who caught him?" Ivy asked breaking the silence, talking as if Robin was nothing but a lost dog.

"I did." A woman said appearing from the shadows.

Robin didn't let any of his emotions show on his face, which took considerable restraint as he watched his friend, Barbara walk in sight with dark green skin, covered in a one-piece leafy suit, leafs crawling up her legs forming knee high boots. Robin felt a mixture of rage, horror and sadness as he watched the conversation unfold in front of him, still trying to piece together what he was seeing.

"My dear old friend Barbara Gordon, now why doesn't that surprise me? Now tell me Barbara, how is a good little girl like you able to catch the big Bat's dear pet Robin?"

The green women stared at the ground with a thin line on her face; she appeared to be deep in thought. "I am not sure Mother… he was following me I believe. I- I just knew what to do… I…"

Barbara brought her hands to her head, just like Robin had seen her done a few days earlier at the hospital and then again at Mount Justice. He now understood it wasn't her fighting off unwanted memories, or at least not all of it, it was her fighting off whatever was happening to her. His gut tightens with fear. He knew what information Barbara had about everyone, about him, Batman, Nightwing, the team, hell the Justice League! And he could see she was clearly in pain. Does Ivy even realise how close she was to uncovering everything? She had the dam Batgirl under her control and he was pretty sure she had no clue.

"Why would Robin be following you? Who are you to him?" Ivy spoke, irritation rising in her.

"I don't know- I- I guess because my father is friends with Batman… argh!"

"Ivy, please! She can't handle it, she doesn't know!" Iris pleads drawing Ivy's wrath.

"She is hiding something from me! Still! She has been under the most yet she still fights me! And now we have a fucking bat-brat here to deal with!"

Tension in the air begins to rise, Ivy is clearly pissed, and she wasn't expecting this kind of hiccup in her plans. She has only managed to escape from imprisonment a few hours ago with the help of her new loyal companions. She turns her attention to the boy in the cell, staring right at him, knowing what trouble he has already caused them.

"Kill him. Dispose of the body fair away from here and make it look like some nut-case like the Joker got another one of _his_ boys." Anger builds in Robin at the mention of the Joker and Jason. He didn't know Jason personally but he followed his career closely which lead him to taking over his mantel. Plus all the stories he had heard, he felt like family in a strange way.

"NO! Please!" A cry breaks out from Barbara as she drops to her knees in front of Ivy, still not able to make eye-control with the boy in the cell.

All eyes lie on the girl on the ground. Ivy's curiosity peaks up again in the sudden cry from the girl. She knew Barbara had secrets, and with each passing moment she wanted to know them more and more. Not at first for the any curiosity towards the information she might gain from them, but from what was so important she has been trying so hard not to reveal.

"Why?"

"He-… I'm…he might be useful…he…" The girl pauses. Clearly struggling to find her own thoughts. Robin was sure she was going to revel who he was, who she was. He guessed they might not care for knowing who he was as they would have tried harder to take off his mask. It had a safe-guard mini electric shock if not taken off right. But they probably figured what use was his name as they knew he wasn't of blood relation to the Batman, and if they were only going to kill him, what was the point in knowing his real name? But if they at least figured who she was, if they knew she was Batgirl, they would try a lot harder to gain information, either resulting in her spilling all secrets or her death.

"No! You need to give me more than that! WHAT POSSIBLE USE? WHY is he important to YOU?" Ivy pushes.

"His… his my brother!" Barbara yells, shocking the whole room. It wasn't true, well not really. They weren't of blood relation or anything at all. Hell they only met because of Batman.

"Well… not blood relation I don't think. I don't know but I know I feel in my heart that he is like a brother and I would do anything to protect him. Please Mother, I would do anything." Barbara pleads. Robin tries to wrap his head around what he is seeing. Still unable to fully comprehend what has happen to these women and why, let alone watching his friend beg for his life. Some hope shines in him that she is still in there and not fully under Ivy's control just yet.

Ivy stares down at the girl at her feet, wondering what she can do with this information.

"You will already do anything I ask, or you will die trying to deny me. So what could you possible do for me? What could you give me that will stop the Batman and his little team running after this Robin?"

Even Robin wasn't sure what she could possible do without completely giving away everything and he didn't believe she would. He just knew she would rather die than give in completely, which scared him a little too.

"I… " Barbara sat there fighting off herself, trying to figure out her own thoughts.

"I could bring you Nightwing. I… I know I could. That way you have two of them as leverage, you could use them for your plan. Turn them into us." Shock hit Robin like a lightning bolt. The Barbara he knew, Batgirl, would do anything for Nightwing, she would never put him in harm's way. Batgirl would never suggest turning him and her long-life childhood friend into whatever they were now.

"HA! Just when I thought you couldn't get any more interesting. But how do you suppose you do that? He isn't '_sort-of-your-brother'_ too is he? And last time I checked all these boys have immune to my mind-control poison." Ivy asks the girl amused and interested in the possibility of pulling-one-over the great Bat.

"No. Um… they do but only from a small amount. If he ingests enough it will at least knock him out… or we get another poison." Ivy raises an eye at the girl, now they were getting somewhere. Imagine the type of respect she would get from the underground community if she could capture both of the Batman's favourite pets? They were parasites that had always been a pain in her backside. At the very least she could dispose of them at the same time. If her plan didn't work out, at the end at least she could destroy the Batman's world.

"Interesting, I have something in mind but he would have to ingested quite a bit, it would take more than just a peak on the lips. How do you suppose doing that?"

"He's… he's in love with me." The girl looks up into Ivy's eyes, unable to tell her more but pleading for her to believe her.

Panic rises in Robin as he realises she might just be able to fulfill out this plan. He has suspected for some time that his adopted brother had deeper feelings for his childhood friend. He was sure she had no clue but it seems some part of her has always known. He was sure by now someone would have noticed him missing and he just hopes they connected the dots between that and Ivy escaping, and hopes even more that someone else runs into Barbara before Dick has the chance to fall into her trap.

Ivy grins, pleased with the development. "Fine. You bring me Nightwing, with no trackers, no trace left behind for Batman to find and I will let you keep your little pet."

On the plus side Robin wasn't in any _mediate_ danger.

**Chapter 18**

**Gotham City: 8:15 pm **

**Dick's POV**

The city is abnormally calm; it seems to be that way a lot lately. Sometimes I wonder if it is really because it is calm or I am just so used to it being miserable and vicious that now I have forgotten what _calm_ really is. Right now I am standing on top of some doughy-rundown building once again looking for a missing team mate. Except it was not just a team mate, it was my adopted little brother, who I promised myself I would do anything to protect. Tim Drake was the third to dawn the Robin persona. Tim was the most intelligent Robin but intelligence only goes so far against experience. And Barbara was not just intelligent but she was also by far more experienced that Tim. And we should have known that. We knew something was not right and now both of them are missing. Either someone has managed to kidnap both of them, _or_ Barbara is just not picking up her phone because it is flat, and Robin going missing is something else _or_ this is linked to Ivy's recent break-out and Barbara acting weird could be due to whatever the chemical did to her, causing her to kidnap Robin for following her. Not to mention that whoever took Robin knew where all three trackers were and communicator, which makes me believe it must have been Batgirl. That gut feeling is back and it is getting stronger with each passing minute. Something was horribly off and right now it was beginning to feel like we are nowhere near finding out what was really going on.

"_Nightwing, any sign of them?"_ Miss Martian said through the mental-link. Communication through telepathy was one of Megan's many talents. She, Superboy, Kid Flash and Artemis are helping with the search. The rest of the team hasn't been informed just yet, I know they would want to help but it would be too hard to manage right now. Poison Ivy was no small time criminal and I was not about to expose the team to the likes of her unless extreme circumstances call for it. However back-up would be useful right now so I let the some of the older team members know and only a hand-full to help. The rest were to keep an eye on all the other cases we were currently working on. Batman was following the clues to Ivy in case she really was behind this all. We had to work all angles of this case before we are too late.

"_Not yet, how about the rest of you?"_ I reply back to her, well-aware of what their responses will be. I feel vibration coming from my phone in my belt, I kept my personal mobile on me just in case Barbara did reply, I knew it was doubtful but I had to stay hopeful. I tune the thoughts out of my head as I quickly answer the phone, it seems it was a good call to keep my mobile on me.

"Barbara where are you? Where have you been?"

"I… I don't know. I mean I just woke up in the ally way four streets over from the library, Dick, I don't know what is happening to me… please I need you." She sounded panicked and my heart ached at the desperation in her voice. She never sounded like this and a big part of me needed to run to her without question; however another part of me knew something wasn't right. I couldn't let her know that I was suspicious though.

"It's okay, I will be right there. Don't move." I reply, I guess there is only one way to find out what is what.

"Please don't tell the others though… I don't want them worrying… I know Batman will tell my father and I can't have him worrying about me anymore. Only you, promise? Please." If that isn't a warning sign than I don't know what is. I really hope I am wrong and she just really does need me.

"Of course BG. Just hold tight." I hang up the phone staring at it, working out a plan of action.

"_What was that? Was that Batgirl?"_ Kid Flash said via the mental link. I didn't think to block out my thoughts during the conversation I was too busy being glad to get some kind of response from her.

"_It was and she just called me. She wants me to meet her now. Alone." _

"_I hate to say it, but that sounds like a trap." _Superboy.

"_Agreed"_ The others say in unison.

"_I know. That is why you won't be far behind. Just far enough to be out of sight, she is still a Batgirl after all and will be able to spot you out a mile away. We need to be cautious in case she really is under some sort of control… no radio, only use the telepathic link. I will try and get information out of her, if not see what she wants from me, see if she can lead us to Robin."_ I say, already making my way to the location.

"_That sounds dangerous. Shouldn't we wait for Batman to get here? Run this by him?"_ Miss M asks hesitant about the plan.

"_No. There isn't enough time, we will tell him once we know more."_ I say ending the conversation already seeing the location in my sight.

**8:40 pm**

**Dick's POV**

I study the dim ally, wondering whether or not this was a good idea. Maybe it wasn't, but there was no time to waste and I was willing to risk my life in order to save Tim or Barbara, ideally both of them. I drop down making little sound. I hear movement in the shadows but unable to make-out much.

"Nightwing… you came." I hear Barbara's soft voice and slowly see a figure appear out of the darkness. Her red hair stands out flowing freely against a white summer dress I saw her in earlier. She is beautiful however extremely pale. She moves closer to me.

"Of course I did. What happened?" I ask, taking a few steps closer. Normally I would hug her but tonight I am hesitant, instead I bring my hand to her face, cupping the back of her neck, drawing her eyes up to mine. I noticed they are now dark green, unless I was going completely crazy I was pretty sure she had always had blue eyes.

"I'm not sure… all I know is that I just woke-up here with this urge to see you… "She places her small hands against my chest catching me off guard spiking energy through me. A type of daze washes over me, confusing me and clouding my judgement. I wasn't sure if what I was feeling was panic or desire. Maybe it was a bit of both.

"_Nightwing, what is happening, is everything okay? Is she…still her?"_ Artemis asks impatiently. I am not sure how to respond however I find myself replying to her via the mental link, never looking away from Barbara's gaze.

"_I'm not sure. If those chemicals turned her into something like Ivy then if she tries anything only then we will know. I am immune to her mind-controlling toxin, if she tries… to… well kiss me then we will know. I will pretend it worked and allow her to take me to Robin. It is our best chance. Megan will keep the mental link open, and if anything goes wrong I put an extra tracker trapped onto the back of my thigh that she won't know about. Either way, it will lead us to Robin and then you can tell Batman before proceeding." _

"_That is the worst fucking plan I have heard in a long time! Are you crazy?! Just put a tacker on her or something!"_ Kid Flash virtually screamed.

"_That is too risky, she will know. She will suspect something like that or if she finds it half way back to where-ever Robin is, she could ruin it and led us in the wrong direction. I will not risk Robin's life on that. Plus, maybe she has nothing to do with it."_ I reply.

"_This is a bad idea."_ Superboy added.

"_It's too late. There is no other option. Just remember, if something does happen, tell Batman BEFORE proceeding, he knows Ivy' tricks."_ I end the conversation there; I needed to know now what Barbara was up to.

"Urge?" I know, pathetic but for some reason I was having trouble finding the right words, all I could think about was those eyes and her deep red lips. I know I don't want her to kiss me, it would confirm that she was in fact not herself. That she didn't have a 'urge' or 'need' to see _me_… she just wanted me out of the way. Yet I had this overwhelming desire to feel the sensation of her lips… and skin against mine.

She whispers, moving closer to me "Yes… desire to stop pretending we are just what we are. Please tell me I am not the only one who felt something when we… crossed that line. Tell me it isn't wrong to feel this way, show me you want to feel me like I do you…"

She stood on her tippy-toes, her red lips only a few inches away, whispering all the things I secretly craved to hear from her for so many years now, only allowing myself to admit it in my darkest dreams. Something tugged in the back of my mind telling me this isn't real, to step away.

"Babs… I'm… is this real?" I ask, unable to look away from her lips, feeling an invisible force guiding me towards them.

"Only one way to find out…" She whispers bring her hands around my neck pulling herself higher, than touching her lips ever so lightly to mine. Desire blinds me, completely taking over my actions. I automatically rest my hands onto her back then closing the gap between our lips. Her lips feel soft against mine, but cold, it doesn't feel right; it doesn't feel as it did that night in my room, but I don't stop. Instead I tighten my grip around her, needing to keep her as close as possible to me, desperately needing this to be real. She opens her mouth allowing for the kiss to deepen, to get faster, more intense. I allow my hand to slide its way up her, feeling the curves that make up her prefect body, coming to rest upon her face, cupping her cheek, and then pulling away gently to breath. Gazing into her eyes… green?… A sick feeling tightens my stomach as I realise what this _really _means.

A sharp pain invades my body as my muscles weaken and I drop to the ground. I slowly comprehend that not only was Barbara not really Barbara, but she poisoned me with some other different poison to Ivy's that was laced on those soft lips. I watched helplessly as she stripped away my belt, communicator and trackers. Then as her skin changed a deep green colour while she moves her arms up in concentration; the next thing I know, I am being surrounded by giant red petals and then blackness as I lose myself to unconsciousness.

**Ivy's hideout under the conservatory: 9:10 pm **

Robin sat leaning against the middle of the back wall of his cell, listening, studying his captors. So far he hadn't heard much, just something about a 'tank' and that if Barbara acts up again then she will have to take another dip. He didn't like the sound of that. There was no natural light, just artificial lights in the hallway outside of his cell; he didn't mind that as he worked better in the dark anyways so if he can manage to get out then he could use it to his advantage. He watched as Ivy walked by to study inside his cage. She kept coming back and forth from the cell, still not quite believing she had the young hero captured.

"You know what is amusing right now Robin." It was the first time she addressed the boy. He didn't reply to her, he knew it would piss her off.

"Your supposedly sort-of-like-sister, my little _pet_ Barbara Gordon, sat exactly like that in her cell only a few cells over from this one. So cocky she was, so very brave. Although I must say you make a much better prisoner, you are so quiet. Barbara on the other hand, such a smart-ass, always singing, always pleading for us to leave the other girls alone." Robin smiled a little to himself at the thought of BG pissing off Ivy; he was not surprised to hear that in the face of danger she decided to practice her vocal skills.

"She even had the nerve to give me a bloody nose and one of my men stitches." Robin couldn't help but let a hint of a smile escape his lips at the thought of that; that was definitely the Batgirl he knew.

"Oh you might think it was funny dear boy but I assure you her singing changed into screams very soon after that. The irony was that if she didn't play up we would have waited to experiment on her for another day, but instead we finished up about exactly the same time as you and Batman arrived upstairs. Does it kill you to know that you were so close yet so far from rescuing them? That if you had only known you were right on top of us the whole time, and if only Barbara shut her mouth she would have been perfectly fine." Ivy stared down at the boy determined to get some sort of reaction out of him, yet got nothing but an emotionless face.

His face might have been emotionless but inside he felt everything but emotionless. Rage and frustration built inside him at the realisation that he was underground and on top of his was the conservatory; the very place he was only a few nights ago confronting Poison Ivy about her involvement in the case. He let his thoughts go as commotion broke out in the layer. Ivy moved her attention towards the main room, where she watched a giant red flower unfold before her revealing her latest red-headed slave and an unconscious Nightwing. Robin jump to his feet and ran to the bars to see/hoping the commotion wasn't what he thought it was. It was pointless as he couldn't see anything.

"I must say Barbara, I am impressed. I didn't think you could actually pull it off, yet here you are with another one of Batman's star pupils." Ivy grinned at the sight before her; her plans were evolving to be better than she had ever anticipated. The girl before her didn't reply, she only moved away from the boy next to her, feeling broken inside.

Panic rose in Robin as he watched two men under Ivy's control drag Nightwing into the cell opposite to him.

Nightwing hit the ground hard shocking him back into the conscious world. He lay flat on his front, his face against the cold stone floor. He gazed in front of him noticing rusty cell-bars; confused as to where he was. He heard the cell door close, drawing his attention to feet walking past the cell and out of sight. He listen to someone cry out his name, forcing him to remember what had just happen. Where he was; that he was taken. He jolted up, regretting it as blood rushed to his head. He felt terrible, as if someone had shook him violently until he creaked open like a piñata. He closed his eyes, allowing himself to gather his thoughts to figure out what was going on. Robin. He opened his eyes panicked, where was he?

"Nightwing, are you okay?" Robin asked again, breaking his _no-taking _policy while captured.

"Robin. Oh god, are you okay?" The older boy asks forcing himself up on his feet moving towards the cell bars to get a better look at the boy in the cell across from him. He was so glad to see Robin looking relatively okay.

"Fine, you? What happened?" Robin replied. Memories flooded Nightwing of him kissing Barbara passionately. He couldn't quite believe it all actually happened; he was reluctant to explain it to Robin. He felt for the tracker in the black of his thigh only allowing his hand to pass over it for a second, it was there, that was a good sign.

"Oh do explain Nightwing, tell the class how did it _feel_?" Ivy approached the cells, curiously and delighted that she had Batman favourite pets in cages.

"What have you done to her? What have you done to all of them?" Nightwing demanded, ignoring her stupid questions.

Ivy moved closer to his cell, bring her face only inches from his, staring into his eyes. "Nothing I need to explain to you dear boy. Oh Barbara would you come over here?"

Ivy's gaze never left the boy's eyes as she studied his reaction as he watched Barbara walk into sight. Barbara no longer wore the summer white dress, instead she was covered once again by a one-piece leafy swim suit, while vines and leafs crawled up her arms and legs. Nightwing's grip tightens on the bars, he still couldn't quite bring himself to believe what he was seeing. He didn't yet understand what Ivy could gain from doing this to these women. They were only beginning to understand what truly happen to these women and yet they still knew nothing at all.

"Barbara, this isn't you! You can fight this!" Nightwing yelled, letting his emotions get the best of him. She didn't reply, didn't even look at the men in the cells.

"No, she really can't. I must admit, I am curious about this whole situation we are here. My little seedling here won't give up her darkest secrets yet she manages to capture not one but two of Batman little proteges, one with only a kiss, well more than _one_, but a_ kiss_ none the less." Ivy says with a bright grin on her face, still studying Nightwing's reaction.

He felt exposed; something that should be so private was a source of embarrassment. But the joke was her; he knew this was a possibility so he prepared for it. Soon Batman and some of the Young Justice team would be here. He had tried to use the mental link earlier but his efforts seem to be fruitless.

"I figured you boys wouldn't give up any information, but I can force it out of her. She can only disobey me for so long; my influence over her becomes stronger and stronger with each passing moment." She turned her back to the cell and made her way towards Barbara.

"What are these two to you? And no 'his-my-brother' bullshit, who are they to you really?"

Both Robin and Nightwing go tense, unable to look away, knowing what secrets could be unlocked.

"I… I can't… Mother please….argh!" The red-headed girl screamed fighting off the pain she was feeling. Fighting off the urge to give into Ivy's control completely, doing anything and everything to protect everything she stood for. She dropped to the ground on all fours, trying to regain balance and control over herself but finding it pointless. Ivy kicked the girl in frustrating causing Barbara to fall to the side.

"For the last time what are you hiding Barbara? What is so important to go through all this pain? Tell me now or try your luck with another session in the tank!" Roared Ivy, she was sick of this. She didn't like to be disobeyed like this, she wanted answers and she wanted them now.

Barbara clenched her mouth together; shutting her eyes closed and covered her eyes digging her figure nails into the side of her skull. Blood dipped down her hands while Ivy called over her thugs to take her away.

Robin braced himself, he knew the 'tank' wasn't a good thing, he over-heard Iris saying she doesn't think Barbara could survive another session. He also knew there was nothing he could do to stop it.

Nightwing panicked, he didn't know what was going on all he knew was that he needed to get out of this cell and help. He desperately searched for a way out, a weapon or a mental connection to Megan to hurry up!

The girl on the ground didn't notice herself being pulled away, she didn't struggle against it; she just accepted it. She suddenly felt herself being lifted up and then a familiar pain washed through her, an electric shook forcing its way to every part of her, every part of her soul. She couldn't hear herself scream every time she managed to bring herself out of the liquid, couldn't process what was happening to her anymore. All she knew is that she had to protect the ones she loved, if that meant giving up herself, her sanity, she would do it.

Robin felt sick to his stomach, shock was paralysing him. He moved to the back of his cell and forgot his poser; instead he covered his ears, refusing to listen to the screams he couldn't stop.

Nightwing screamed out his friend's name over and over again; all he knew was that a part of him was breaking with every passing minute. He felt completely helpless. He couldn't bear to know the pain he heard with each ear-piecing scream.

**Ivy's conservatory: 9:50 pm**

**Artemis' POV**

To say that Batman was pissed-off was an understatement. He now had all three protégés kidnapped, or worse under some sort of mind control. Well not even mind-control, some sort of mutation. He didn't say much but we were all on edge around him, we were all he had for back-up right now but we were not trained like the bat-clan, we didn't know his moves, what he wanted from us without having to ask.

I can't get the image of Barbara's skin turning into some sort of green monster summering some giant flower out of the ground around a paralysed Nightwing. It was like out of some sort of horror movie. I feel like my body is automatic, as if I am not really here at all. Guilt was still following me around like some sort of lost puppy. If only I didn't get blind sighted by my own desire we wouldn't be here, having to save our team mates. She came to me that night to hang with; I should have been there for her.

I really hope they are okay; Nightwing didn't look so good lying on the ground. The plan was to follow him, not for him to suddenly drop to the ground, then quite literally being pulled into the ground! I honestly thought that seeing those two finally kiss, not that I actually wanted to _see_ it, but for them to see what we all saw that it wouldn't be some sort of trickery and wouldn't be so fucking deadly. I was hoping to bag the crap out of them not to be saving them from some psycho plant lover!

Miss M and I enter the conservatory from high above. She carried me up; I have to say once it is one of my least favourite things to do. It made me feel like a child. Batman makes his way from the ground. Superboy and Kid Flash hang back watching from a distance; Batman order for them not to enter unless given the order. He wasn't about to risk anyone else being compromised, especially one with superpowers. Lucky for Miss M and I can't be controlled so easily, so we get to play back-up. The boys were frustrated; they were not used to being left out and wanted to do something more hands-on. I was thankful though, I don't think I could handle anymore friends being captured or influenced by some evil bitch. Especially now that Wally and I found each other. Weird timing, and well not exactly ideal for reminiscing in the future, it is not without pain I will think of this time. That really sucks. Why did life always do this to me? Can't I just ever have something good without pain?

I cut open a small circle in the glass roof of the conservatory, big enough so I could get through. Miss M turned invisible and passed through the glass; she has intangibility, the power to pass through solid objects. Honestly I could do so much with that power, yet here I am dealing with what I was given, a good aim. My job is to find high ground, stay hidden and give cover. Miss M has gone ahead to sus out a good advantage point, as well as to see if she can pick up any psychic links to the missing team members. Within seconds she's back giving me a heart attack as she becomes visible again only half-a-meter away.

"_Dude I could have shot you! See pointy arrow!"_ I mentally tell her off pointing the loaded bow away from her.

"_Oh sorry! I just found a good spot. I thought I would carry you there, it will be quicker and you can save your arrow-rope-thing-y."_ She replied. I guess that makes sense. I nod my head, putting my arrow away and taking her hand allowing her to carry me to a high tree-top. It wasn't great but it was the best we had. From here I could see most of the conservatory with ease. I try to look for Batman. I notice a few goons knock up and hidden in bushes; he was here alright and already in place just waiting for the right time to make a move. Nightwing's tracker said he was here, yet so far he was nowhere to be found.

*The tracker appears to indicate he is underground.* Batman said via communicator. He preferred it than the mental link; you could tell Miss Martian was a little insult by that, she didn't understand why anyone would have a problem with mentally communicating.

*Wait, there's movement. He appears to be moving upwards. That isn't good. We must have set off an alarm.*

I don't bother replying to him. Instead I look around trying to figure out if Nightwing was moving upwards, then maybe he would soon be visible. Suddenly the grounds starts shaking and I grab onto the branch I am squatting on for support. That was close!

I watch as three giant flowers rise from the ground. I had to admit it was stunning and bad-ass, Poison Ivy really knew how to make an entrance.

The middle flower unfolds its delicate pink petals to reveal Poison Ivy sitting as if she were on a throne. She smirks into the distance. She can't see us but it is clear she knows that we are here, well at least she expects at least Batman is. I have this major urge to stick an arrow straight through her head. Someone really needs to at least slap that smirk off that face.

"_Megan do you have a read on her yet?"_ I mentally ask.

"_No. It is like before, she has somehow blocked me, it would be dangerous if I were to push too much too soon." _

Damn.

**10 pm**

"Oh why don't you come out? I know you're there. Batman" Ivy says in a seductive voice.

A dark figure emerges from the darkest part of the garden and moves without a sound towards a great platform stopping before it. Poison Ivy watches the figure upon her flower-throne, determined that this will be the time _she_ gets the best of the man. After tonight she would be a step closer to her grand-plan, her vision for the new world soon to be fully realised. After tonight the big dark Batman, the gloomy man before her will not get in her way, not without risking his dear beloved pets. She smiles again upon her own thoughts of his destruction.

"Where are they Ivy?" Batman states in a stern voice.

"What on mother's green earth are you talking about Batman?" Ivy replies with a knowing voice, she stares for dramatic effect enjoying every moment.

She continues, "Oh-wait, you don't mean these little birdies do you?"

The green woman widens her arms as if she was delicately preparing for a warm embrace. The two giant flowers, one of each side of her unravel exposing see-through oval bubbles, each contained one pissed-off boy, gaged and bound by the hands and feet like a star-fish. Robin was to her left and Nightwing to her right. She never once looked their way; she only continued to stare at the dark knight in front of her, hoping for a reaction.

Of course nothing showed on his face. He would not give her the satisfaction, would not break the persona of Batman for one minute; Batman was not meant to be affected like that. However the man underneath wanted to scream out in horror, he was happy they were alive but he had seen those bubble-contraptions before. If he didn't be careful Ivy will give the word/whatever-it-is-she-does that will set them off, filling them with acid.

Before Batman had a chance to reply the ground started shaking again. A number of smaller flowers sprouted from various places around Ivy's throne and the two captives. One slightly larger one caught Batman's attention; unraveling to reveal a green-Iris Hayden and two unknown men; Batman figured they were under Ivy's mind-control. He looked from girl-to-girl, they were all green and covered leafs similar to Ivy. He recognised all the women, Steph, Sarah, Annabell and Jamie but where was Barbara?

"Impressive, right?" Ivy raises her eye-brow.

"You're missing one." Batman states; anxious to know where she was.

Ivy glances around counting the girls that are visible. She knows that even though she might not be able to see the red-head that she was here.

"Barbara, care to show yourself?" She demands in a calm voice.

A green-skinned woman appears from behind the flower throne taking her place to Ivy's right. Ivy slides off her seat to stand next to Barbara. She runs her hands ever so gently down the girl's face, smiling to have her old friend by her side.

"You know Barbara here was the one who constructed this little get-together. She has proven herself very useful. If it wasn't for her your little progenies wouldn't be here, of course she hasn't mentioned how she was able to do it, but I have a feeling we both know the answer to that one, don't we?" Ivy paused giving the Batman a knowing smile.

"What do you want Ivy?" He gets right to the point. He feels sick to his stomach seeing his loved ones toyed with like dolls. That Ivy possibility knows who Barbara really is.

"You know there is a strong possibility for me to sweep away with all or at least_ most_ of the Bat family tonight. To think what wonders Gotham could get up to then." She ignores him, still smiling to herself, stroking the red-headed girl's hair next to her.

It took all of Artemis's will not to let go of her arrow, not to end Ivy's life right then and there. She was getting more furious by the minute. Miss Martian next to her tensed, still trying to process what was happening. What was the point of this all? She tried to mentally-connect to Nightwing and Robin however the bubbles they were in were providing some kind of barrier.

"Enough games. What is your end-play? What do you want?" Batman stated louder. He was done waiting around. He saw all three people he cared about, plus all the missing girls, he was ready to end this now.

"End-play? Oh nothing much you would be interested in. But I do have a proposition for you, what to hear it?" She replies ever so casually.

"Talk."

"Man of few words I see Batman. Okay well here is the deal, I am aware you probably have back-up right now however if you want _both_ of your little boys alive by the end of the night you won't try anything stupid. Instead I propose this, I give you back these two and you just leave us alone. _Or_ at least a good head-start. If you don't agree with this then I will let the boys take an acid bath right now; there is no way you could save both of them and get through my girls at the same time." Ivy stated waiting on the Man's response.

She knew he would never stop hunting her if she killed them so if she could at least get him off her back for a few hours it would be enough to disappear until they were completely ready to fulfill their plan. If he refused she would try and kill them, then make her escape with most of the girls.

"You know I can't let you leave with those girls. Let them all go now, you will never win Ivy, the police are already outside setting up." Batman stated, almost with a tried voice. This case had really taken a toll on him and he didn't even want to think about the possibility of not being about to reverse whatever it is Ivy did to these girls, what she did to Barbara, to Batgirl.

"One last chance Batman, call off the cops. Allow us passage and you can keep your pets." Ivy demanded, more pissed off now. She was hoping to avoid a fight tonight.

*You ready Artemis?* Batman whispers into the communicator, he was too far away from Ivy and her minions for them to notice.

*Ready. When she goes to activate those bubbles-things I will piece both of them. Miss Martian will go for Robin, you Nightwing.* She didn't mean to give him orders, she didn't even think, but it was a little hard for him to give orders without giving away their plan to Ivy.

"Let them go Ivy." Batman steps forward, keeping a strong posture he pulls out a batarage.

"Fine, be that way Batman. Watch them burn for all I care." Ivy lifts her hands causing both bubbles to start filling up.

Two arrows fly suddenly, one within a second of each other splitting both bubbles wide-open. Ivy screamed in frustration.

"Fine be that way. Iris get Jamie, Annabell and Sarah out of here now. Steph and you two meat sacks stay here, attack Batman and whoever shot that arrow! Barbara put this on and _kill _Nightwing." Ivy hands the Barbara a small wooden container full of a black poison. The same thing she had on earlier but a stronger dosage. The weaker dose was more of a light-grey colour so she was able to hide it under red lip-stick but this applied as a black paste.

She did what she was told and applied a thick layer onto her lips, not caring about keeping it in the lines. She felt it burn her lips, soaking into them. She walked towards Nightwing as the commotion behind her picks up. The ground shakes as Iris, Jamie, Annabell and Sarah sink into the earth to the underground hide-out in order to make their escape from there.

Arrows fly blocking off Ivy's path towards the Robin. Ivy figures she would go for the smaller boy, drawing attention to them away from Barbara and Nightwing. Of course she would try and kill the teen too but they were more inclined to stop her first from killing Robin before worrying about the mindless girl walking towards the other boy; well at least she hoped.

Batman blocks and dodgers vines and attacks from Steph and Ivy's men. He throws a few explosive pebbles that acts to freeze anything it comes into contact with. Steph lets out a cry as one hits her foot causing her to be stuck where she stood. She was still new at this, inexperienced, and wasn't able to focus on anything else but the cold running up her leg.

Miss Martian flew towards Robin managing to get to the boy before Ivy had her hands on him. Unfortunately unable to un-tie him before Ivy attacked her, throwing giant vines her way. Miss M ducked and fought Ivy and her vines while Artemis made her way closer to the action, shooting arrows at Ivy's vines and plant creatures that were popping up. She had some crazy-turnip creatures racing towards her, with spiky teeth and sharp leafy-feet. At this point she decided that this was definitely a horror movie waiting to be made; she just hoped all the main characters didn't die for once!

Meanwhile Barbara stepped into the great bubble facing her former-friend. She felt her insides tighten as she struggles against orders she was given. She felt like a puppet, as if someone else was pulling her strings. Her figure tips felt cold as she touched Nightwing's face pulling down the vine that was covering his mouth.

"Barbara! Stop. This isn't you, you need to fight this! I know you can hear me! Babs!" Nightwing screamed in desperation as he pulled against his restraints.

The girl stopped as she felt her body tighten. A familiar pain started testing her will as she fought off the voice inside her head telling her that the boy was right, this isn't _you_. Her grip on the boy's face tightens as she fought with herself. Her eyes closed and lips burned as she felt the poison blending with the previous chemicals she was exposed to.

She barely noticed as a strong hand gripped her shoulder shoving her backwards, sending her to the ground. She couldn't hear the cries for her, she couldn't process anything else but the pain she felt in that moment.

Batman untied Nightwing quickly feeling semi-relief that he got to him in time. Artemis managed to untie one of Robin's hands, allowing him to do the rest as she helped fight off Ivy. Ivy's two goons were unconscious on the ground by Steph who was still stuck to the ground in agony.

Batman glanced at Batgirl on the ground watching her turn over curling up into a ball visibly in pain. He orders Nightwing to stay back from her; they don't know what has been done to her and unless she moves to just keep an eye on her. He then leaves to help the others fight Ivy.

Nightwing nods his head in response to the orders but struggles with the urge to help her on the ground. He doesn't understand what is happening to her but he knows it isn't good. He watched in horror as great leaves surround his friend creating a giant green cocoon.

Meanwhile Artemis aims her bow while Miss Martian and Batman surround Poison Ivy, it was over; she was defeated. She tried to send once last vine their way but Batman froze it with one of his ice-pebbles. He closed the gap between them within seconds, grabbing her wrists as she goes to punch him, twisting her around he slams her against the glass-wall, cuffing her hands behind her back.

Police entered the conservatory as Nightwing yelled out, "Batman! Something's wrong! Come quick!"

Batman shoves Ivy to one a few of the cops and races towards Nightwing while the others followed close behind. They stop a few meters away stunned at the sight before them. Where once lay a young woman was now replaced by a great green cocoon, green light shone through it changing colour to a dark black.

"Batman! Where are the other women? Where's my daughter?" Commissioner Gordon ascended upon the platform, moving to stand beside the caped-crusader. He stops in his tracks as he sees what it is they are staring at.

Batman turns towards the group of cops holding Ivy, yelling. "What did you to her? What is happening?"

Her eyes widen as she takes a close look at what Batman was talking about. A smile consumes her face as she then goes to laugh at the sight. It seems she would get her revenge against them after all.

Artemis draws her arrow moving towards Ivy, anger blinding her. "Fix it now! Whatever you have done, fix it now!"

"Artemis." Batman gave her a warning.

"What is going on? Who did you say that is a person?" The Commissioner said in confusion.

Batman looked at his friend, wondering how he was meant to explain to the man that,_ that_ was in fact his daughter. Before he could say a word Ivy spoke up.

"Go ahead Batman. Tell him. Tell him that is little girl is transforming." She laughs again, loving every minute of the scene in front of her.

"Barbara?!" James turns his head towards the cocoon in disbelief. He frozen in shock not knowing how to proceed.

"Miss Martian can you sense anything?" Batman asks.

She takes a steps forward, closing her eyes, mentally reaching out. She shakes her head, not risking speaking, not trusting herself not to break out in tears. She felt the same mental block she did when Nightwing and Robin were in the bubbles.

Suddenly a light shone bright through the cocoon. Everyone watched as it broke apart, leaving a curled up woman in its place.

Nightwing stepped forward slowly whispering, "Barbara…"

The woman's eyes snapped open. She slowly brought her hands to the side of her pushing up off the ground and throwing her hand backwards. She looked around taking in the scene before her. No one made a move, they were waiting, waiting to see what this meant. Her skin was a dark green, her eyes a deeper green however her hair still a bright red, falling into ringlets behind her. She stood up, letting her gaze stop on the man closest to her, smiling.

"Barbara, please tell me you're… you?" Nightwing said staring at her, unable to recognise the girl in front of him. His eyes were first drawn to her deep black lips followed by the black leafy vines crawling up her arms and legs forming make-shift shoes and finger-less gloves. Black leaves formed tight-boy-shorts, while two great black leafs crawled around from her back to cup her breasts, exposing her stomach which held a beautiful-yellow flower.

"Nightwing…It's good to see you." She said in a soft-tone, taking a step toward him, staring up into his eyes.

"Nightwing wait!" Robin called out, panic taking over; he didn't like the looks of this.

The green-girl moved quickly at the sound of the young boy's call. She half-jumped onto the man in front of her, bring Nightwing into a startled kiss. His hands grabbed her shoulders, tightening as pain invaded his body, and then sending him to his knees before her. Batman, Robin and the others call out his name in terror, moving towards them.

"Stop! Or I will kiss him again, killing him in an instance!" She yelled as she knelt down on one knee next to Nightwing, holding him up close to her face. She didn't have the same conflict in her this time. No pain followed with the thought of killing.

"Barbara! What are you doing?" Commissioner Gordon said distressed.

"I don't know who you are referring to but if you want him to survive the next few minutes then you will release Poison Ivy now. I wouldn't think about it too long either, the poison is slowly turning his insides to mush but I will give you the cure if you release her." She demands calmly.

"Barbara-" Batman tries to plead with the girl, he hadn't felt this helpless in a long time.

"NOW!" She moves her lips closer to Nightwing's, looking directly at the Batman, knowing that he wouldn't want to watch another one of his boys die. Knowing that he had the power to give her what she wanted.

She hears muffles as the police un-cuff Ivy, releasing her. She walks up the platform smiling in owe. Her little experiment had evolved into something even better than she could have ever imagined.

"Well, well, well, I certainly lucked out with this one, wouldn't you say Batman? I can defiantly see why you kept her around, I really don't see how you could ever find someone to replace her." She smiled, knowing that she just exposed the secret of Batgirl. James Gordon was confused at first until he thought about the implications of what Ivy just said. The more he thought about it, the more it made perfect sense.

"We had a deal. Let him go and give us the cure." Batman stated, ignoring Ivy's attempts of disrupting him.

The green-woman stood up, letting the boy fall to his side. He felt the darkness call out his name. He so badly wanted to respond, to just close his eyes but was unable to take them off the imposer who wore his friend's skin.

She put her right hand out to her side, summering a yellow flower, letting it stand there shinning bright. "Here, make this into a tea and it should reserve the effects."

She bowed her head as Ivy approached her, moving to stand next to the woman. Ivy smiled at the new found commitment Barbara had.

"Barbara! Wait!" Artemis called out, forcing herself to try to reach her friend.

The green woman looked towards the blond girl, hardly recognising her. She said one last thing before she summoned a great black and white flower to carry them into the earth.

"Call me Datura."

_**So there is part 1 of my super-long story! Let me know what you thought of it pretty please?:) I have started part 2 already but I was thinking of uploading it separately or is that silly? If you are interested to see what happens from here, whether or not Barbara is cured then hopefully I can convince you to keep reading part 2 when it is up! Let me know if there is anything you want to see or a direction you would like to see the story go in. I can't promise anything but if I think it is interesting I will try my best to please:)**_

**Thank you for reading! It means a lot that you took the time:) x **


	8. Part 2: Please tell me it was a dream

_**Please comment! **_

_**Pretty pretty please, let me know your thoughts, even if they are negative! :) :) :) Or at least follow this story to let me know you find it interesting enough to keep reading... please:D **_

_**Hey so I decided to keep the story together just in case some decided they couldn't be bothered looking for the second part, and idk maybe it is silly to split it. But if you think I should split it up... I can change it as now I am worried some people might look at the number of words and be like "yep CBF reading that". I know... I worry but it is only because I really have no clue how you guys are reacting to this story! **_

_**I would like to say thank you for the positive feedback from RedWingNight and jdcocoagirl! You both made my day! I hope I can keep pleasing you with this story, I know it is getting a bit long, I just don't want to cut it short. Again you guys are awesome! :)**_

**Part 2: "Call me Datura" **

**Chapter 1: Bat-cave: Wednesday, 4 pm**

In the mists of a dark cave sits a young boy deep in thought; listening to the quiet of the cave. He wondered how he got here, how his family had once again been broken. He mentally tells himself off for ever doubting this wouldn't be a possibility, after all in this line of business this type of shit should be expected. They all knew they were just counting down the minutes before something like this happened again, yet lived in the daydream that they could fight off anything and everything that came their way. But who could have seen this one coming? It was a well laid out plan, kidnap a bunch of girls who had been drinking heavily; have a woman do it after all who would expect a pretty young woman to be the devil's personal assistant? Poison them in some sort of orange bath, aka '_the tank' _that she-devil called it. Play with their minds, and let them believe they were sexually assaulted. Make the whole city believe that they were so everyone wastes their time looking for the bad '_guy_' instead of a nut-case woman. Then send them back so everyone believes that the threat is over. Then waiting for them to turn crazy and re-turn to their maker, Poison Ivy. It just so happened that she was lucky enough to kidnap Barbara Gordon, aka Batgirl. Not that she knew who Barbara was at the time.

That was hell in itself. Robin, aka Tim Drake can't remember the last time he was ever that worried, until now that is.

Now he was staring at his adopted brother hocked up to a number of different tubes and wires, feeling as if his world was again falling apart around him. It had been two days since Dick Grayson, aka Nightwing had the kiss of death from his former best friend, and he had not yet woken-up. Robin was sure that once the yellow flower-tea was in his system he would surely wake up, however he had only stabilized. Which was of course was a good sign but it would just be better if he would open those blue eyes of his as well.

Tim also wondered if maybe Dick was better to stay unconscious. He dreaded when he would have to break the news of what had happened to Barbara, aka Batgirl, to him. Turns out the reason why she had taken that swim in the freezing cold ocean was out of instinct_ not_ because of some coping-behaviour to deal with whatever she thought she went through. There was something about the chemical inside her that caused it to not fully activate until the victim was exposed to extreme cold, she was drawn to the cold waters. It was why all the girls suddenly changed and were drawn back to each other and then to their captor.

Tim felt sick to his stomach thinking about what was really happening to her. All those times she cried out in pain was not because of some horrible memory but was her trying to fight for the control over her own body. He still didn't fully understand what was happening to her but from what he gathered from when he was captured, she was trying to keep their secrets. She had the most to lose from giving in, causing her to fight the hardest. That pissed off Ivy beyond belief which is why Barbara was found beaten and bruised with a lot more of the chemicals inside of her. Although she didn't give up her secrets she did serve Poison Ivy, capturing both Robin and Nightwing. Almost killing Nightwing when she kissed him with a poison mainly made out of a deadly flower called datura smeared across her lips. The mixture of the poison sinking into her lips and the other toxin still running through her, caused some sort of transformation to take place, mutating her into something else, something going by the same of "Datura."

How was he meant to explain that to Dick? That not only did he just miss the jaws of death but his childhood friend, crime-fighting partner had been turned into some sort of monster who almost killed him. And that they had no idea how to reserve the affects, which they also don't know if it was even possible.

He hadn't seen the young justice team yet. He knows they would be worried for both of their teammates, he was sure Artemis, Wally, Conner and Megan would look after them though. He had too much on his plate right now to even think about visiting them.

All that was running through Tim's head was Barbara fighting off the toxins, calling him her brother, doing everything she could to please Ivy but to protect him at the same time, he didn't realise how important he was to her. He guessed that maybe he did, after all he felt the same way when he thought about her, she was always looking out for him, taking the time to listen to him. But it was another thing to hear it out loud. Then an image of her covered in black leaves and vines with an ice-cold expression invaded his thoughts. All previous reservations and struggles she had were now gone. The Barbara he knew wouldn't kidnap her best friend, wouldn't almost kill him so easily without any hesitations.

Frustration built inside of him as he pictured Nightwing hitting the ground losing consciousness. He felt fresh tears silently roll down his face as he gripped his teeth shut. He never moved his gaze from his brother, willing him to move, to do something. The silence he once found comforting was now suffocating him. He got up out of his chair, feeling his emotions jumping to the surface, betraying his normal calm persona he liked to keep.

"Wake up!" He shouted, feeling the tears blurring his vision.

"God dammit Dick WAKE UP ALREADY! NOW! WAKE UP! WAKE UP! WAKE THE FUCK UP DICK!" Tim kicked the side of the bed in anger, he felt as if his emotions were going to exploded right out of him.

"Please…." Whispered a lost boy that didn't know how to deal with any of this, he needed Dick to wake up, to tell him how to. He needed Barbara to just be here, like she always used to be.

...

_A young 16 year old Dick Grayson walks down a long dark driveway with his whinging year older friend Barbara Gordon. _

"_I can't believe you are dragging me to this party, Alice is an absolute bitch and frankly if this is about getting laid then I don't see how my presence is necessary. It is just going to be like last time, me being ditched looking like a freak because I am going to be the only girl not dressed like a whore while you go off with some lose cannon who ends up stalking you for weeks and nagging me about how you feel about her. THEN girls bitch about it being my fault somehow, seriously what the actual fuck!" Barbara complains to an exhausted Dick. _

"_Alright, alright, alright! I get it, this isn't your scene. But come on it could be fun, we never go out and just have fun! I won't ditch you I promise, just as long as you don't pout and sit there like last time. I just need this, with everything going on…and heaven forbid that I want to share it with my best friend, just give it a go please?" He gives his best puppy dog eyes, hoping that it might lighten her up and keep her off the warpath. She glances at the boy next to her rolling her eyes at the sight. _

"_I get that… that is why I am here. It's just… I just wished I fit in better. You can walk into a room and suddenly blend right in, talking to everyone so easily, I on the other hand…well look at me." Dick stops and grabs his friend's arm, forcing her to look at him. Confusion filled him, he never really thought of his fiery-strong headed friend would ever doubt herself in a situation so trivia as a high-school party._

_She suddenly regretted ever saying anything, she knew now he wouldn't let go of what she said, she should have just sucked it up and pretended she was perfectly comfortable in this situation. She tried to break eye-contact, feeling as if she kept it he would be able to see inside her soul, see how she truly felt. See the mixed emotions she felt watching him go off with all those girls. But he turns her head to face him, he wasn't about to let her off the hook. _

"_I am. I will always see you. You don't need to dress like those skanky girls to fit in, because you don't need to fit in to be confident and happy about yourself. You're better than that Barbara and you know it. They just give you shit because they are jealous of how strong you are and how you don't need that to get everyone's attention, even if you think you don't. Honestly I swear you are so blind sometimes, so many guys have approached you and you shut them down without realising it, personally I find it very amusing. You also tend to intimidate a few of them so they came to me to see if I would help them out, but frankly they aren't worth your time so I don't bother mentioning it. Grr okay I am ranting, but please don't doubt yourself, you know I hate that. I am nothing without you. That is why I drag you along." _

_He gives her a half-smile hoping that she would just see herself as he did, prefect. She felt stunned, exposed. She didn't know if she liked it or not but it was nice to have someone have so much confidence in her, even if sometimes she did doubt herself. She was now determined not to anymore, if only it meant to please her friend, she would do it. _

_She smiled back, giving him a little punch in the arm, "aww you big softy." She giggled, needing to break the seriousness of this conversation. He shook his head smiling but a bit annoyed, not knowing if she really took anything of his rant in. _

"_But seriously, thanks Dick. You're right I am over reacting." She looked up at him, feeling her mood lightening. She gives him a hug, then pulling away she continues. _

"_But on a _real _serious note, what guys?" She laughs, only being half-serious. Dick shakes his head, giving the red head a little push. _

"_And they say I'm bad." They start walking to the front door, prepared to take on the unpredictable teenage party that waits. _

_That night was one of the best parties Dick remembers, he kept his promise, and he spent the whole night with his red headed friend. The night ended with both teenagers drinking a bit too much singing Nirvana all the way home giving poor Alfred a headache. The butler demanded they go to bed, Barbara in the spare room she had claimed as her own many years age. However they snuck out of their rooms and met on the rooftop of the manor. Staying up until the late hours talking and laughing, until they felt asleep, Barbara with her head resting on Dick's stomach. _

Slowly a confused Dick Grayson woke feeling the sweet dream of the party many years ago fade away into a distance memory. He felt the calm dream state disappear as anxiety crept up on him once again as he became more and more conscious of where he was. The cold crisp smell of the cave was one of the first sensations he noticed, making him aware that he was now down in the cave, which could only mean one thing; he was hurt and now in the sick-bay. He looked down noticing a young teen half sleeping with his head on the bed and the other half almost sliding off the seat next to it. He noticed the boy's hand in his and the stained tears on his face. Dick's heart tightens at the sight, he had never seen the boy like this before and he most certainly didn't want him being this way because of him. He gave the boy's hand a little squeeze to wake him up, letting him know that he was okay.

"Tim, wake-up." He said, watching the boy came out of his slumber. Times like this it reminded him that Tim is only 17 years old, hell he was only 21 himself; they were still just kids.

Tim felt something tighten around his hand, confusion surrounded him as sleep beckon him to return as he hadn't got more than a few hours sleep over the past few weeks. But a voice calling his name suddenly jolted him into the present.

Dick was suddenly attacked by the boy in a giant hug, almost cutting off his oxygen; Tim might be smaller than Dick at the moment but he was a lot stronger than he looked. He returned the hug, feeling grateful to know Tim was okay too. The last time he saw him was behind bars being knocked out by some pick powered, right before he lost consciousness himself. Panic rose in him as memories of the other night flooded back to him. He pulled away from the boy looking up to find Bruce, aka Batman, was above his bed, carrying heavy eyes.

"Bruce. Barbara, what happened? Please tell me-" Dick desperately look towards his adopted father for some sort of clarification.

Bruce cut him off, resting his hand on the young man's shoulder "Dick, stop. First things first, how do you feel?"

"Fine, okay, actually more like I just fell off a cliff into a pool of bricks. But that isn't important. Please tell me this is some sort of fucked up dream and everything I think that just happened didn't. Please tell me she is going to come around the corner now and tell me to stop being so dramatic, and sarcastically say that she would never kiss me let alone poison me with…" With every word he spoke he knew that it wasn't a dream.

Bruce's hand tightens around Dick's shoulder to show his support the best way he could. "Dick…We will get her back."

"Master Dick, how it is good to see that you have awoken." Alfred said putting a plate of sandwiches down on a table next to Tim. He meets his face watching as tears fill the young man's eyes.

Without another word he makes his way to the young man hugging him, comforting him just as he did when he was just a small little boy who had arrived to this big manor carrying the loss of his entire family.

They all sat there for a while in silence. Bruce wondered how much more suffering could they take, when would the point come when they were too exhausted to fight back? He knew that would never happen, he knew that none of them would stop fighting; they would keep fighting until their last breath. But was it worth it? Barbara fought to keep their secrets and look what happen to her.

**Chapter 2: **

**Five weeks later: Wednesday 11:15 pm, Gotham City**

Four jovial young adults stroll out of one of Gotham's underground bars, notorious known for its lenient rules for the drinking age. The air was cold; bring one couple to warm up in each other's embrace. They were satisfied that the trip to Gotham's seedier sides of town was worth the buzz they were feeling now.

The group's voices lower as they huddle together, knowing that this city could be a harsh and unforgiving place. Inside some buildings one might be loud, wanting as much attention as they could soak up, but any person with half a brain knew that being invisible on the streets of Gotham was a must if you dared to make the trip out at night. Another must was moving fast ignoring the dodgy activities going on in the darken alleys around you.

All eyes stayed glued to the ground as they refuse to acknowledge a cry for help from one of those dark alleyways; walking just a bit faster.

A young runner way pleads for help as a strong hand drags her back into the darkness. She screams as she is pushed against the wall hard causing her dizzy head to get a little bit fuzzier. Shock rides her body, causing her to go to numb, losing her voice to the empty cruel streets.

A man, similes with satisfaction thinking he has once again found himself an easy catch. He similes too soon.

"I wouldn't do that if I was you." A voice stops the old man in his tracks. He glances over his shoulder, noticing a silhouette of a young woman. Nothing he hasn't handled before, he wasn't worried.

"Get lost sweetheart, if you know what's good for you."

A green vine wraps around the man's left wrist causing him to pull away from the girl. Before he could react his face was met with a strong punch.

"I did warn you." The woman walks closer to the man and the girl, allowing the moonlight to shine upon her face.

"Don't be afraid girl. I am here now. I will make sure no one can take advantage of you again." The green woman draws her eyes from the girl, who was still suffering from shock that she didn't dare to move, to the man who was gaining back his barring. She summons vines from the small creaks of the broken concrete paths to tighten around the man's wrist causing him to be dragged back up to the wall so that his face was on par with hers.

A sudden click of a gun stopped the woman from proceeding with her plan. She lifted an eyebrow somewhat impressed; it wasn't every day that someone was able to sneak up on her.

"Well…" She interrupts the silence, slightly turning her head towards the dark side of the alley.

"Well indeed. I got to say, when I heard the news I didn't actually believe it, but it is really you, isn't it Barbie?" A young man replied somewhat amused at the sight before him.

The woman turned fully to gaze at who was threatening her with a gun. She was not alarmed, she was almost certain she could handle him; after all she had a gift these days for miss-leading men.

"No. The name's Datura or haven't you heard? Poison Ivy and I are setting some new ground rules. So if you don't mind, I have to get back to enforcing them." Her voice is low; almost friendly-if you didn't know any better that is, and this young man knew better.

"Well actually I do mind, you see this is _my_ turf and it is under _my_ protection." The man takes a few steps closer, not yet lowering his gun.

She can now see the man behind the gun, well most of him. He wears black leather pants, a black bulletproof vest, a gun holster and a dark-brown leather jacket. However Datura didn't pay any attention to that or the gun, her eyes were drawn to the red helmet that covered the man's face.

"Some protection."

"I was about to jump right in until I noticed you. What were you planning on doing to him?" He asks curiously, even though he already knows the answer.

"Kill him. Why do you have a problem with that?" She states coldly, eyeing the red-hooded man.

He lowers his gun slowly, "well then, by all means" he gestures towards the man.

"No, no! Please!" The old man screams realising that no one helps sinners.

Datura smiles her black lips, confirming her original suspicions that this was in fact the recently-famous Red Hood. He had only shown up a few weeks ago but had made quite a scene in the underworld; he liked to be known. And she knew he didn't tolerate crime that he didn't approve of in his domains.

She moved her attention back to the creepy old man, "shhh how about a kiss from a full-grown woman."

Red Hood watched as Datura's kiss sucked the life right out of the man, causing him to fall to the ground in silence and pain.

A scream brought both anti-heroes attention to the young girl. She went to run but Datura was faster, grabbing her arm forcing the girl to almost lose balance.

She turned finding a gun pointed right back at her.

"Let the girl go."

Before Datura could reply a subtle sound caught both hers and Red-Hood's attention. They both knew that sound all too well; anyone else would have missed it but not them.

Datura looked to the ground for an escape. There wasn't enough earth exposed to create one of her get-away-flowers, she looked back at the Red Hood who was also calculating an escape route.

"Fuck. Not them. Okay not that I don't love a good fight, but I have a way out of here to avoid one. One condition though, you have to let the girl go. I won't let you take her." Red Hood stated in a low voice.

Datura was reluctant to let the girl go but she did as the man said and followed him into the shadows.

**Review! _Pretty please, let me know, were you surprised by the appearance of Red Hood? Or was it obvious? How are you finding the story so far? _**

**_Is there any parts that pissed you off or made you a little frighten that I might go a certain way with the story... I know at the start I suggested sexual violence, what were your thoughts of that? I was trying to make a little reaction out of you guys so I would really appreciate your thoughts, even if you think they are silly or mean. I felt I held back because I didn't want to scare anyone off from reading (I would never actually have one of the characters violated like that because that is just horrible and I feel that if I did it would ruin/or change the character too much and that isn't my place to do so). _**

**_So thoughts? :) _**


	9. Note: Next chapter up now:D

Next chapter is already uploaded in a separate story, just clink on my name and it should take you to my profile. It is called **"Datura: Fight For Control"**

**Please review** for what you think of it so far!  
I know I have missed a few spelling errors ect... which is annoying I am sorry!  
But what would you like to see come of the story? You don't have to be up-to-date to tell me what you think of what you have read so far:) PLEASE! haha  
And thoughts on the next title?

Anyways... thank you all for reading so far and please continue and keep reading! I would really appreciate it! :D

And thanks to...

Saphire122

korben600

jdcocoagirl

RedWingNight

For all your lovely reviews, support and advice! I love hearing from you all and would love to hear more of your thoughts and ideas as the story continues!

And thanks for everyone who has been following the story and who has added me to their favourites! All made my year! :D

This is my first story and it is so nice to see that some people are enjoying it! Please let me know all your thoughts, good and bad! I am still new so still have a lot to learn and the best way to learn is by hearing from other people:)

Love you all :D haha xx


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